. 


THE  LIBRARY 


THE  UNIVERSITY 


OF  CALIFORNIA 


LOS  ANGELES 


THE 


BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH 


BT 


ALICE     NOLAN. 


NEW  YORK: 
P.  O'SHEA,  27  BARCLAY  STREET. 


ENTERED  ACCORDING  TO  ACT  OP  CONGRESS,  IN  THE  YEAR  1869,  BT 
P.  O'SHEA, 

IK  THB  CLERK'S  OFFICE  OF  THE  DISTRICT  COURT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 
FOR  THE  SOUTHERN  DISTRICT  OF  NEW  YORK. 


STEREOTYPED  BT 

DENNIS    BRO'S    A     THORNS, 
AUBURN,  N.  T. 


PS 


TO  THE 

FAITHFUL  PEOPLE  OF  IRELAND  AND  THEIR  DESCENDANTS, 

SCATTERED  OVER  EVERY  PORTION  OP  THE  HABITABLE  GLOBE, 

VICTIMS 
Or  BRITISH  RULE  AND  LANDLORD  RAPACITr, 

EXILES 

FROM  OUR  OWN  BEAUTIPUL  AND  POETIC  LAND,  TO  WHOSE  SOFT  VALES  AND 
OCEAN-BOUND  SHORES  OUR  HEARTS  EVER  FONDLY  TURN, 


U  RESPECTFULLY  AND  LOVINGLY  DEDICATED  BY 

THE    AUTHOE. 


1732701 


PEEFAOE. 


THE  incidents  related  in  this  tale,  really  and  truly 
occurred,  though  not  in  the  consecutive  order  in 
which  they  are  placed. 

The  mass  of  the  Irish  landlords  having  attained 
an  unenviable  pre-eminence,  it  was  found  necessary 
to  concentrate  several  characters  in  one  individual, 
and  make  him  the  representative  of  his  class :  thus 
the  Right-Rev.  S.  W.  Biggs  is  in  reality  some  super 
latively  bad  landlords  exhibiting  in  one  mortal 
frame.  It  must  not  be  inferred,  however,  that  the 
picture  is  overdrawn,  or  that  there  could  not  be 
found  one  person  in  that  class  sufficiently  wicked 
to  bear  the  responsibility  alone.  Unhappily  the 
fact  of  their  being  so  numerous  is  the  very  reason 
why  one  must  be  made  to  stand  for  many,  otherwise 
the  recital  of  each  individual's  inhuman  execution 
of  English  laws  (framed  for  the  destruction  ol  a 
kindly,  virtuous  people,  and  cruel  enough  to  disgrace 


VI  PREFACE. 

savages,'  not  to  speak  of  their  manifest  injustice) 
would  form  a  library  in  itself.  Another  cause  also 
existed,  which  seemed  to  render  this  amalgamation 
a  necessity  :  The  writer  was  surprised  to  find  that 
many  atrocities  perpetrated  by  landlords  within 
the  last  twenty-five  years  were  almost  unknown  in 
America,  even  to  Irish  people  who  had  emigrated 
before  that  period  ;  thus  the  trial  and  legal  murder 
of  Bryan  Seery,  in  "Westmeath,  had  never  been 
heard  of  by  any  one  with  whom  the  writer  con 
versed  in  this  country  during  a  period  of  seventeen 
years !  Man}'  other  transactions  detailed  here,  which 
happened  under  other  tyrants,  were  equally  un 
known  ;  and  although  the  vast  majority  of  the  Eng 
lish-speaking  people  of  the  United  States.are  natives 
of  Ireland,  or  descendants  of  these  persecuted -Celts, 
yet  the  evictions  by  Lord  Plunket,  the  Protestant 
Bishop  of  Tuam,  seem  alone  to  have  aroused  a  cry 
of  indignation  throughout  this  land — thanks  to  the 
fearless  zeal  and  energy  of  dear  good  Father  Lavell, 
and  the  saintly,  noble  Archbishop  of  Tuam,  who 
would  not  tamely  witness  the  destruction  of  their 
flock.  All  honor  to  those  Columbkills  of  the  nine 
teenth  century  !  In  view  of  these  facts,  it  appeared 
indispensable  to  collect  some  of  the  skeletons  of 
landed  proprietors  together,  thrust  them  into  one 


PREFACE.  Vll 

wolfs-hide,  and  hold  the  disgusting  creature  up 
for  execration. 

After  much  trouble  and  correspondence,  therefore, 
the  writer  obtained  a  file  of  the  Dublin  Nation  con 
taining  a  full  report  of  the  trial  and  execution  in 
February,  1846,  at  the  town  of  Mullingar,  County 
"Westrneath,  of  Bryan  Seery,  for  the  murder  of  Sir 
Francis  Hopkins,  Bart.,  who  was  not  murdered  at 
all,  having  received  a  shot  through  his  hat,  instead 
of  his  hearty  if  he  ever  possessed  such  a  sensitive  or 
gan.  This  noble  baronet,  then,  under  the  title  of 
one  not  unknown  to  the  crowbar  brigade — Right 
Reverend  Samuel  Wilson  Biggs,  D.  D.,  Lord  Bishop 
of  Glengoulah,  is  the  hero,  and  his  deeds,  inter 
woven  with  others  of  his  class,  form  the  groundwork 
of  this  tale. 

All  the  other  characters  introduced  are  real. 
Margin,  the  agent,  is  a  life  likeness,  if  anything  a 
trifle  too  flattering.  Like  all  paintings,  it  conceals 
many  of  the  blemishes  and  wrinkles  so  visible  in  the 
original.  The  names  of  persons  and  places  are 
changed  for  obvious  reasons. 

The  record  of  the  O'Byrne  family,  as  related  by 
Mr.  De  Courcy  to  Biggs,  is  not  their  history.  It 
is  merely  a  fancy  sketch.  The  O'Byrnes  have, 
indeed,  a  truly  noble  history,  but  its  details  are 


VH1  PREFACE. 

too  long  for    the    pages    of   such   a  tale   as   the 
present. 

Having  said  so  much  by  way  of  explanation,  it 
only  remains  to  crave  the  indulgence  of  the  reader 
for  the  author,  who  is  perfectly  sensible  of  the  liter 
ary  demerits  of  the  undertaking,  it  having  been  ori 
ginally  written  during  invalid  hours  for  dear  young 
relatives,  who  never  saw  the  old  historic  land  of  their 
fathers. 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 


CHAPTER  I. 

DEAR  READER,  have  yon  ever  been  in  the  beautiful 
County  of  WickloW,  in  Ireland  ?  I  pity  you  if  you 
have  not,  ahd  will  pity  you  still  more  if,  having  the 
means,  you  do  not  visit  before  you  die  that  land  of 
enchanting  scenery — for  Moore  tells  us  (and  I  think 
you  will  admit  he  is  pretty  good  authority), 

"  There  is  not  in  this  wide  world  a  valley  so  sweet 
As  that  vale  in  whose  bosom  the  bright  waters  meet." 

That  vale  is  the  Yale  of  Ovoca,  so  called  from  a 
stream,  of  liquid  silver  bearing  the  same  name, 
which  takes  its  rise  in  the  neighboring  hills,  bounds 
from  cliff  to  cliff  into  the  lovely  valley  below,  where, 
meeting  the  limpid  Avon,  they  clasp  each  other  in 
a  bright  and  gurgling  embrace.  Soon  disengaging 
itself,  the  Ovoca  dashes  forward,  singing  and  tum 
bling  as  it  runs  through  the  picturesque  village  of 
"  Wooden  Bridge,"  then  turning  the  little  headland 


2  THE    BYRXES    OF    GLENGOULAH. 

it  seems  to  expand  its  bosom  and  move  more  slowly 
— no  doubt  out  of  courtesy  to  the  honors  paid  it  in 
flowing  through  the  groves  of  Shelton,  where  the 
sweeping  willow  and  the  graceful  larch  bend  their 
branches  to  kiss  the  beautiful  stream  as  it  passes. 
Emerging  from  those  lovely  shades  it  makes  a  curve 
by  the  lighthouse  of  Arklow,  and  with  a  joyous 
bound  flings  itself  into  the  arms  of  "  the  Irish  Sea, 
or  St.  George's  Channel,"  which  forms  the  eastern 
boundary  of  Ireland.  Oh,  happy,  cloudless  days  of 
childhood  !  How  vividly  ye  impress  the  memory ! 
Many  a  sunny  morning  in  summer  have  I  wandered 
in  those  enchanted  groves,  with — a  book  you  will 
think,  of  course ;  nothing  of  the  kind — a  goodly-sized 
basket  on  my  arm,  and  a  pair  of  scissors  contained 
therein  ;  for,  reader,  my  taste  was  not  of  the  literary 
kind  then,  I  assure  you — to  pick  ^ackHerries,  or 
hunt  for  bird's  nests,  was  then  the  bent  of~my  incli 
nation.  Armed,  therefore,  with  the  basket  and  scis 
sors  aforesaid  (the  latter  was  to  save  our  hands  from 
the  swarms  of  little  thorns  which  guarded  the  fruit), 
my  sister  and  self  committed  great  depredations  on 
the  blackberries  (which,  by  the  way,  were  the  largest 
and  most  luscious  of  the  kind  I  have  ever  tasted). 
Often  has  my  sister — who  was  ever  more  piously 
inclined  than  I  was — called  to  me  from  a  neighbor- 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GIENGOCLAH.  3 

ing  bush  to  stop  and  recite  the  "  Angelus,"  as,  clear 
as  the  morning  air,  broke  the  tones  of  Shelton  Abbey 
bell  for  six  o'clock  ;  not,  as  of  old,  to  call  the  faithful 
to  prayer,  but  to  summon  the  laborers  to  work  on 
the  estate  of  the  Right-lion,  the  Earl  of  Wicklow, 
whose  magnificent  country  seat  lay  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river.  I  see  it  all  before  me  now,  though 
more  than  thirty  years  have  gone  by — the  clear, 
bright,  sunny  morning,  the  ever-verdant  grass  dot 
ted  with  myriads  of  daisies  and  cowslips,  the  gentle 
kine  moving  slowly  and  browsing  the  sweet  herbage, 
groups  of  sheep  with  tiny  lambs  nibbling  or  play 
ing  on  the  turf;  the  gurgling  limpid  river  "  murmur 
ing  a  happy  song "  as  it  glides  on  to  the  sea,  the 
graceful  trees  along  its  banks  bending  to  catch  the 
reflection  of  their  own  fair  forms  on  its  bosom,  the 
hills  of  Shelton  at  one.  side  of  the  river  and  Castle 
Howard  on  the  other,  rising  cone  after  cone,  clothed 
to  the  very  top  with  every  variety  of  tree  and  shrub. 
To  the  east  a  break  in  the  hills  discloses  the  slender 
minarets  and  turrets  of  Shelton  Abbey  towering 
from  the  distant  groves  ;  more  distant  still,  the  pret 
ty  little  town  of  Arklow,  with  its  long  line  of  fisher 
men's  huts  stretching  out  to  the  beach;  and,  still 
beyond,  the  blue  sea  with  its  tiny  crests  of  foam 
and  mimic  waves,  scarcely  rocking  the  little  fishing- 


4  THE   BYKNES   OF   GLENGOULAH. 

smacks,  with  which  it  is  now  covered,  bent  on  their 
daily  toil.  The  air  is  redolent  with  the  perfume  of 
wild-flowers.  From  every  bush  and  brake  thousands 
upon  thousands  of  birds  are  pouring  forth  their  joy 
ous  songs,  and  high  in  the  heavens  numberless  larks 
are  taking  their  melodious  way — 

"  Who,  singing  ever  soar, 
And  soaring  ever  sing." 

Two  children  have  stopped  their  blackberry  feast  to 
lecite,  in  union  with  the  whole  Catholic  world,  the 
beautiful  "  Angelus  Domini."  Their  garb  is  black, 
for  a  few  months  before  the  loved  voice  that  taught 
them  that  sweet  Christian  practice  had  ceased  to  be 
heard  on  earth  !  Well !  Pardon  me,  reader,  when 
I  found  myself  on  the  banks  of  the  Ovoca  I  could 
not  for  my  life  but  try  to  paint,  however  imperfectly, 
the  beautiful  panorama  which  memory  conjured  up ; 
but  now  we  will  let  it  move  on,  and  I  will  proceed 
to  tell  you  my  tale. 

About  four  miles  from  this  lovely  scene,  at  the 
base  of  one  of  those  cone-shaped  hills,  was  a  snug 
farm  of  about  forty  acres,  held  by  one  Anthony 
Byrne,  as  decent  a  man  and  as  honest  a  neighbor  as 
ever  the  sun  shone  on.  Anthony,  or,  as  he  was  usu 
ally  called,  Toney  Byrne,  arose  with  the  lark,  and 
like  that  bird  of  melody  went  to  his  work  with  a 


THE    BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH.  5 

light  heart,  singing  or  whistling  some  sweet  old 
melody  of  his  native  land,  his  "  fack  "  on  his  should 
er,  and  his  two  stout  farm-laborers  bent  in  the  same 
direction.  Like  the  great  majority  of  Irish  peasants 
Toney  Byrne  led  a  blameless  life.  If  he  met  a 
neighbor  going  to  work,  or  returning  from  it,  some 
such  conversation  would  be  sure  to  ensue  as  the  fol 
lowing  :  "  God  save  yon,  Toney  !  "  "  Oh,  God  save 
you,  kindly,  Ned!  how  are  you  the  mornin'?" 
"  Why,  then,  the  Lord  be  praised,  I  was  never  better 
in  my  life ;  and  how  are  you,  and  how  is  the  woman 
that  owns  you  ? " 

"  We're  all  pretty  lively,  thanks  be  to  the  great 
God,  and  to  you  for  askin'."  "  How  is  the  crops 
wid  you,  Toney  ? " 

"  Well,  finely ;  thanks  be  to  God  !  "  or  as  the  case 
might  be.  "  Why,  then — indeed,  Ned,  they're  migh 
ty  backward  this  season,  the  Lord  of  heaven  be  prais 
ed  !  The  upland  hay  turned  out  very  short  entirely, 
and  I'm  greatly  afeard  of  the  oats  too — but  sure  we 
can't  expect  things  to  be  always  goin'  right ;  bedad 
I'm  thinkin'  we'd  have  ne'er  a  thought  at  all  for 
th'  other  world  if  we  didn't  meet  some  little  disap 
pointment  here,  so  we  must  only  be  satisfied  when 
we  know  we  did  our  best." 

"Throth  its  true  for  you,  Toney ;  I'm  in  dread  my 


6  THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH. 

wlmte  will  be  short  too ;  but  as  you  say,  when  we 
did  our  part  we  can't  help  it,  so  welkim  be  the  will 
of  God." 

Every  one  who  knows  anything  of  the  Irish  peas 
antry  knows  how  common  such  dialogues  are  in 
every  part  of  Ireland.  The  leading  characteristics 
of  the  people  are  gratitude  to  God  in  prosperity  or 
adversity,  and  humble  submission  to  the  Divine 
will  under  all  trials  and  circumstances. 

At  the  conclusion  of  their  frugal  supper  Toney 
and  his  family  would  give  hearty  thanks  to  God  in 
the  real  old  Catholic  fashion,  never  forgetting  to 
pray  for  the  souls  of  the  faithful  departed.  After 
supper  all  would  gather  around  the  bright  turf  fire 
to  tell  stories  and  crack  jokes  while  the  pipe  was 
handed  about. 

If  a  stranger  happened  to  be  present,  which  was 
very  often  the  case  (for  Toney  Byrne,  like  a  true 
Irishman,  never  closed  his  door  to  the  poor  or  the 
stranger),  he  got  the  snuggest  seat  in  the  ample 
chimney  corner ;  then  some  of  the  neighbors  would 
raise  the  latch  and  step  in  with  "  God  save  all  here  ! ?> 
"  God  save  you  kindly,  and  you're  welcome ;  sit 
down." 

"  Faix,  Barney,"  one  of  the  youngsters  would  cry 
out,,  "  you  forgot  to  say  barrin  the  cat  and  the  dog." 


THE   BYKNES   OF   GLENGOULAn.  7 

"  Sorra  matter  avic !  let  the  poor  brntes  havo 
pace ;  you  oughtn't  to  be  so  hard  on  the  animals 
anyhow,  Mike." 

This  sent  the  laugh  round  at  Mike's  expense,  a 
young  urchin  of  ten,  who  crept  grinning  up  to  his 
father's  side  on  the  hearth.  I  know  of  no  place 
where  a  more  social  evening  can  be  spent  than  in 
the  kitchen  of  an  Irish  peasant  farmer.  Thrilling 
ghost  stories,  poetic  fairy  tales,  and  very  frequently 
dissertations  and  arguments  on  history,  for  the  Irish 
peasant  is  very  fond  of,  and  not  at  all  ignorant  of, 
historic  lore. 

Napoleon  le  Grand  is  his  great  hero,  principally 
because  the  English  hated  him ;  and  after  detailing 
and  discussing  his  various  exploits,  you  are  sure  to 
hear,  "  Aye,  Boney  was  able  for  them  all,  and  would 
bate  the  whole  world  if  he  let  the  Pope  alone." 
There  every  one  chimes  in,  and  all  are  unanimous 
in  pointing  out  how  his  power  waned  from  the  hour 
he  meddled  with  the  Holy  Father,  and  how  jnst  it 
was  he  should  die  in  exile  as  he  caused  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff  to  die  in  a  foreign  land  in  his  old  age.  Thus 
many  a  pleasant  hour  passed,  and  when  bed-time 
came  the  neighbors,  wishing  a  kindly  "  good  night," 
would  retire  to  their  homes.  Then  Toney  and  his 
bustling,  good-natured  little  wife,  calling  the  house- 


b  THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH. 

hold  together,  would  pull  out  the  beads  and  recito 
the  rosary  before  lying  down  to  rest. 

A  couple  of  times  in  the  year  the  townlands  of 
Glengoulah  were  visited  in  turn  by  Darby  Wholahan, 
the  blind  piper,  who  drew  melodious  strains  from  a 
very  respectable-looking,  silver-keyed  instrument, 
which  he  called  the  "  Union  Pipes,"  and  which  was 
a  combination  of  the  Scotch  and  Irish  bagpipe.  The 
most  staid  fool  in  the  parish  could  not  keep  still 
while  Darby  performed  the  "  Peeler's  Cap,"  or 
"  Lord  Macdonald's  Reel ;"  and  as  for  "  The  Hun 
ter's  Jig,"  you'd  give  your  oath  you  heard  the  fox 
running  for  his  life,  and  the  hounds  in  full  cry  after 
him. 

Darby  was  kept  going  from  one  farm-house  to 
another,  all  the  neighbors  assembling  each  evening 
where  he  was  known  to  be,  and  the  Terpsichorean 
performances  on  every  floor  were  a  triumph  of  grace 
and  agility.  Between  the  pauses  in  the  dance 
Darby  had  an  inexhaustible  fund  of  anecdotes 
replete  with  humor ;  he  could,  besides,  sing  an 
excellent  song,  either  comic  or  sentimental,  and 
had  a  great  talent  for  recitation,  so  that  it  is  no 
wonder  every  hand  was  extended  and  every  heart 
bounded  when  Darby  arrived.  "  Oh,  God  be  with 
those  happy  days  !  Oh,  God  be  with  my  childhood  ! 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH.  9 

Every  meeting  passed  off  pleasantly  and  innocently, 
and  each  arose  next  morning  refreshed  for  the  day's 
work  by  the  harmless  and  healthful  recreation  of 

the  evening  before. 

Thus  passed  the  even  tenor  of  Toney's  life  and 
his  neighbors.  They  were  not  rich  in  this  world's 
goods,  but  they  wanted  for  nothing,  having  where 
withal  to  live  upon,  and  enough  besides  to  share 
with  their  poorer  fellow-creatures — a  little  store  may 
be  for  cases  of  emergency,  and  immense  treasures 
in  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity.  No  doubt  they  had 
their  faults  too — who  has  not  ?  but  they  were  few, 
and  so  overlaid  with  virtues  that  they  could  scarcely 
be  perceived. 

The  landlord  who  owned  this  fine  estate  was  Sir 
Charles  Plover,  Bart.  He  was  an  absentee,  and  his 
property  was  managed  with  justness  and  kindness 
by  Mr.  De  Courcey,  a  wealthy  merchant  who  had 
extensive  flour  mills  not  far  distant.  Mr.  De 
Courcey  watched  over  the  interests  of  the  tenantry 
like  a  wise  and  prudent  man,  knowing  that  the 
real  interest  of  the  landlord  was  in  the  prosperity 
of  the  tenant.  He  had  the  best  farm  seeds  brought 
from  Dublin  for  their  use,  saw  that  their  fields  were 
properly  drained,  encouraged  them  to  keep  their 
houses  neat  and  to  train  some  creeping  vine 


10  THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOHLAH. 

around  them,  for  which  purpose  he  made  presents 
to  the  farmers'  wives  and  daughters  of  many  a 
honeysuckle  and  woodbine. 

He  had  hedges  planted  here,  overtopping  banks 
removed  there,  mountain  rills  widened  and  made 
to  form  water-courses  for  the  use  of  the  cattle  and  to 
carry  off  field  drains,  obliged  them  to  sink  wells, 
and  all  to  have  neat  and  well-kept  gates  and  cattle- 
pens.  By  a  properly-arranged  mixture  of  justice, 
firmness  and  prudence,  he  made  Sir  Charles  Plover's 
estate  the  most  prosperous  both  for  landlord  and 
tenant  in  the  county  of  Wicklow,  while  the  eye  of 
the  tourist  was  enraptured  with  the  scene  of  tranquil 
beauty.  On  the  sides  of  the  hills  the  white  farm 
houses  gleamed  from  clumps  of  trees,  trailing  vines 
of  the  sweet-scented  honeysuckle  crept  around  the 
windows  and  rustic  porch,  the  blue  smoke  curled 
high  up  in  the  air,  the  little  vegetable  garden  with 
here  and  there  a  bed  of  cultivated  flowers  bordered 
with  "  London  Pride"  formed  a  bright  patch,  and 
helped  the  primroses  to  scent  the  mountain  breeze. 

Mr.  De  Courcey  was  not  a  Catholic,  but  he  was 
a  gentleman,  and  presumed  not  to  interfere  with  the 
faith  of  the  tenantry.  He  respected  those  who 
lived  up  to  the  dictates  of  their  consciences, 
and  was  often  heard  to  speak  in  terms  of  high 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAII.  1.1 

admiration  of  the  noble  fidelity  with  which  the 
Catholics  of  Ireland  clung  to  their  faith  through 
weal  or  woe. 

To  say  that  Mr.  De  Conrcey  was  respected  and 
beloved  by  the  tenants  would  be  cold  words;  he 
was  almost  idolized.  Second  only  in  their  affections 
to  the  venerable  Father  Esmond,  and  his  curate 
Father  O'Toole,  was  the  much-loved  agent.  His 
appearance  amongst  them  ever  brought  a  smile  of 
welcome,  while  each  busied  him  or  herself  to  appear 
their  best  before  "  Mr.  De  Courcey,  God  bless  him." 

What  a  pity  that  the  fair  face  of  nature  should 
ever  be  overcast  by  a  cloud  ;  but  clouds  and  storms 
will  come,  dear  reader,  and  so,  taking  a  sheltered  seat 
before  it  breaks  upon  us,  and  keeping  our  eyes  fixed 
on  God's  good  Providence,  "  who  rules  the  whirl 
wind  and  directs  the  storm,"  we  will  rest  awhile  and 
leave  the  outburst  for  another  chapter. 


CHAPTER  II. 

BEFORE  I  proceed  further  I  must  tell  you  about 
Toney's  family — as  likely  a  set  of  children  as  you 
could  meet  with— two  girls  and  three  boys.  Mar 
garet,  the  eldest,  was  a  hard-working,  gentle-tem 
pered  girl,  unobtrusively  industrious,  ever  at  hand 
when  her  mother  wanted  her,  which  was  pretty 
nearly  the  whole  day,  for  Mrs.  Byrne  was  of  a 
bustling,  quick-tempered  nature,  but  had  the  warm 
est  and  kindest  heart  in  the  world.  Margaret  was 
a  tall,  well-proportioned  girl,  with  an  open,  smiling 
face,  and  the  bloom  of  youth  and  health  on  her 
cheek.  She  was  about  18  at  the  time  my  tale  com 
mences.  Winifred,  who  was  not  yet  14,  was  a 
smaller  figure,  with  a  remarkably  pretty  face,  in 
which  drollery  and  roguery  were  the  leading  char 
acteristics.  She  was  a  great  pet  with  her  father, 
who  would  shield  her  from  her  mother's  anger 
when  some  piece  of  work  allotted  to  her  would  be 
found  untouched,  or  when  she  had  played  some  prank 
on  the  old  schoolmaster  who  came  to  teach  them  three 
evenings  in  the  week.  "  Whist,  Kitty,"  he  would 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH.  13 

say,  "  the  girl  is  young ;  and  if  she  is  fond  of  playing 
tricks,  the  creature  has  no  more  harm  in  them  nor 
a  kitten."  So  Winnie  went  on  playing  pranks  and 
laughing  merrily.  But  the  darling  of  his  mother's 
heart  was  Andrew,  the  eldest  boy,  now  about  12  ; 
he  resembled  his  father  in  figure,  being  remarkably 
tall  for  his  age ;  while  his  features  were  like  his 
mother's,  fair  and  frolicsome.  He  bore  a  strong 
resemblance  to  his  sister  Winnie,  and  was  ever 
ready  to  second  her  in  all  her  pranks ;  but  there  was 
no  son  more  docile  or  obedient  than  Andy,  for  all 
his  devil-may-care  ways  and  hasty  temper.  One 
day,  when  speaking  confidentially  of  her  family  to 
a  neighbor  who  had  dropped  in,  Mrs.  Byrne  was 
known  to  say,  "  Margie  and  little  Pat  is  the  father 
on  the  sod — there's  no  trouble  in  life  wid  them, — 
they  go  smooth  along,  gain  in'  the  good- will  of  every 
body  ;  deed,  Mrs.  Fehily,  though  I'm  her  mother, 
I  will  say  Margie  is  worth  her  weight  in  gold  ;  you 
could  not  cross  her  temper ;  but  for  all  she  has  a 
dacent  spirit  too — there's  not  a  mane  thought  nor  a 
mane  act  in  her  carcass."  "  Mane ! "  cried  Mrs. 
Fehily ;  "  why,  then,  I'd  like  to  know  where  any 
thing  mane  could  be  got  in  the  Byrnes  of  Glengou- 
lah  !  Sure  we  wouldn't  know  where  to  go  look  for 
dacency  if  we  didn't  find  it  in  the  ould  stock." 


14:  THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH. 

"  I'm  beholdin'  to  you,  Mrs.  Fehily,  for  your  good 
word;  but,  indeed,  it's  true  wbat  you  say.  Sure 
everybody  knows  the  Byrnes  is  tbe  oldest  family  in 
Wicklow,  barrin  the  O'Tools,  and  though  I  know 
myself  Toney  is  proud  of  them  too.  Still  he's 
always  tellin'  the  children  the  way  to  prove  they'ro 
of  the  ould  stock  is  to  be  good,  humble  Christians, 
and  to  never  forget  how  the  Byrnes  of  ancient 
times  was  hung,  drawn,  and  quartered  for  bein' 
Catholics,  but  they  kept  their  faith  through  thick 
and  thin,  though  they  lost  their  lands." 

"  'Deed,  Mrs.  Byrne,  it's  often  I  heard  my  grand 
father  tellin'  of  all  the  hardships  they  met  with 
from  Crom'ell  and  his  crew ;  bad  luck  to  their  memo 
ries,  the  black-hearted  villains !" 

"  Well,  may  God  in  his  mercy  keep  the  persecu 
tion  from  our  doors  anyway ;  but  I  was  tellin'  you 
about  the  children.  If  Margie  and  Pat  is  like  the 
Byrnes,  there's  Winnie  and  Andy  and  Mike  has  the 
very  spirit  of  the  Malones — my  own  people." 

"  Why,  then,  now,  do  you  tell  me  so  ?  " 

"  Tell  you  so !  Two  apples  never  grew  more  like 
one  another  than  my  Andy  and  his  uncle — my  poor 
brother,  Andy  Malone — that  I  christened  him  after; 
God  rest  his  soul  this  day  !  Oh,  Mrs.  Fehily,  dear ! 
if  you  were  to  see  that  boy  when  he  was  risin'  twen- 


THE   BTKNES    J)F   GLENGOULAH.  15 

ty-two! — there  wasn't  the  match  of  him  in  three 
baronies.  He  was  as  tall  and  straight  as  an  arrow — 
the  Malones  was  all  tall  and  likely,  glory  be  to  God ; 
it's  after  the  Delanys,  my  mother's  people,  I  take  in 
my  height.  Well,  he  had  a  pair  of  shoulders  on  him 
the  breadth  of  your  apron,  and  sorra  such  a  lad  for 
tricks  in  the  country  round.  He'd  sing  like  a  lark 
the  minit  he'd  open  his  eye  in  the  mornin';  and  it's 
try  in'  the  steps  in  a  double  or  a  reel  he'd  be  while 
he'd  be  puttin'  on  him  (dressing) ;  then  he'd  kneel 
down  and  pray — I'll  engage  as  fervent  as  any  one — 
and  be  off  to  his  work;  but  when  breakfast  time 
came  maybe  we  wouldn't  all  get  our  share.  Before 
he'd  go  to  the  field  again  he'd  put  myself  and  Onny 
and  Mary  and  Biddy  (there  was  the  four  sisters  of 
us  growing  up)  all  in  a  heap  a  top  of  one  another 
on  the  floor,  and  the  spinnin'  wheel  a'top  of  us  again. 
My  mother  used  to  run  after  him,  makin'  believe 
she  was  goin'  to  hit  him  a  box,  and  he'd  whisk  her 
up  in  his  arms,  and  run  round  and  round  the  house 
with  her,  and  then  put  her  sittin'  in  her  own  chair 
in  the  chimbley  corner  and  run  off.  We  couldn't 
do  a  ha'porth  but  laughin'  for  an  hour  after,  and  my 
poor  mother  holdin'  her  sides.  He  was  as  innocent 
as  a  child,  for  he'd  stay  a  whole  day,  when  it  would 
be  too  wet  to  work,  playin'  wid  little  Norah  and 


16  THE   BYKNES   OF   GLENGOULAH. 

Tommy,  and  makin'  babby  houses  for  them,  and 
then  he'd  dance  for  the  creatures.  Oh,  dear !  oh, 
dear !  glory  be  to  the  holy  God !  but  it's  hard  to 
live  in  this  world  at  all."  Here  poor  Mrs.  Byrne, 
overcome  by  her  feelings,  rocked  back  and  forth  and 
sobbed  in  her  apron,  upon  which  Mrs.  Fehily  inquir 
ed  what  happened  him?  "Happened  him!  They 
broke  his  heart,  so  they  did.  Didn't  ould  Wilson, 
the  tithe  proctor,  come  to  take  up  the  tithes  one  day, 
and  my  mother  and  himself  had  some  words  and  he 
gave  her  the  lie  ?  Andy  was  just  comin'  in  at  the 
door  on  the  minit  when  he  heard  the  word ;  and,  Mrs. 
Fehily,  dear,  it  would  do  your  heart  good  to  see  him 
leapin'  on  Wilson.  Well,  he  bate  him  and  kicked 
him  till  he  cried  for  mercy.  '  Now,'  says  he,  '  I'll 
tache  you  how  to  spake  to  a  dacent  woman,:  says  he, 
'you  blood-suckin'  varmint  that's  livin'  by  the  plun 
der  of  the  honest  and  the  hard  workin'  poor,  yourself 
and  jour  employers,'  says  he ;  '  be  out  of  the  house 
this  minit,  or  I'll  have  your  life,'  says  he.  Wilson 
was  glad  enough  to  get  leave  to  go ;  but  before  eve- 
nin'  fell  a  whole  possee  of  polis  came  and  took  my 
poor  fellow  away  to  prison.  Och!  Mrs.  Fehily, 
asthore  !  but  that  was  the  black  night  in  our  house  ; 
the  neighbors  had  to  hold  my  father  when  he  seen 
the  polis  puttin'  handcuffs  on  his  darlin'  boy ;  my 


THE   BYRNES    OF    GLENGOULAH.  17 

poor  mother  fell  off  in  a  dead  faint  when  she  seen 
the  polis  eomin'  in,  and  well  become  my  poor  fellow 
but  he  tried  to  comfort  the  father.  '  Never  mind, 
father  dear,'  says  he,  '  it  won't  be  for  long ;  I'll  soon 
be  back  again  wid  you  all,  plaze  God,'  says  he. 
He  was  going  to  say  more,  but  they  dragged  him  off. 
He  was  four  months  in  prison  before  the  trial  came 
on,  although  the  best  of  bail  was  offered  for  him — 
they  said  it  was  too  great  a  crime  to  bate  a  tithe 
proctor,  and  they  could  not  think  of  taking  bail  for 
it.  When  the  trial  came  on  you'd  think  he  was  the 
greatest  villain  that  ever  lived  to  hear  the  charges 
brought  against  him — it  would  frighten  you  to  hear 
the  papers  read  by  the  prosecutin'  counsil ;  they  said 
he  was  a  dangerous  character  and  must  be  made  an 
example  of.  And  when  they  said,  '  stand  up,  An 
drew  Malone,  and  plead  guilty  or  not  guilty  to  these 
charges,'  he  stood  up  as  grand  as  an  earl.  '  If  you 
mane,'  says  he,  'am  I  guilty  of  baitin'  and  kickin' 
the  tithe  proctor? — I amj  says  he;  '  I  gave  him  as 
good  a  kickin'  as  ever  he  got,  and  the  man  doesn't 
live  that  I'd  let  give  the  lie  to  any  dacent  woman, 
let  alone  my  own  mother.  I  hope  Wilson  wont  for 
get  the  lesson  I  gave  him  in  good  manners,'  says  he. 
He  was  as  brave  as  a  lion  and  didn't  care  a  fiv'pen- 
ny  bit  for  the  whole  of  them.  A  wild  cheer  and 


18  THE    BYRNES    OF    GLENGOULAH. 

cries  of  '  bravo,  Andy  Malone ! '  rung  through  the 
court.  The  Judge,  mighty  angry,  called  for  silence, 
and  said  if  they  done  that  any  more  he  would  have 
the  court  cleared.  They  then  told  my  poor  fellow 
to  sit  down  and  would  not  let  him  say  another  word, 
though  he  had  no  counsil ;  he  would  not  let  my  fa 
ther  fee  counsil,  for  he  said  it  would  be  of  no  use, 
and  sure  it  was  true  for  him.  They  then  sentenced 
hrm  to  twelve  months'  imprisonment  and  hard  labor. 
Och !  but  it  was  the  sore  year  to  us  goin'  in  and  out 
of  prison  tryin'  to  bring  him  the  little  comforts  he 
was  used  to.  Many's  the  fine  turkey  and  pair  of 
barn  doors  (fat  fowl)  we  brought  the  jailor  to  get  his 
good  will  for  Andy,  but  he  was  trated  nothing  the 
better  for  it.  He  didn't  care  for  the  work,  for  he 
was  as  strong  as  a  horse  ;  but  they  put  him  with  the 
riff  raff  of  the  prison  on  purpose  to  break  his  spirit, 
and  well  they  did  it.  When  that  weary  year  was 
out  and  he  was  let  out  you  wouldn't  know  him.  He 
tried  to  laugh  and  joke  as  of  old  to  comfort  the 
mother,  but  she  could  not  be  deceived — she  saw  the 
change  in  him,  and  the  light  went  out  from  her  heart 
from  that  hour.  The  damp  of  the  prison  cell  got 
into  his  bones ;  and  the  close  confinement,  but  above 
all  the  keepin'  company  with  house-breakers  and 
horse-thieves,  broke  his  heart.  His  cheuk  was  palp 


THE    BYRNES    CF    GLENGOTJLAH.  19 

.•" 

and  his  step  was  heavy,  and  he  faded  and  faded,  and 
before  the  harvest  was  all  in  he  hadn't  a  bit  on  his 
bones  and  had  to  keep  his  bed ;  and  by  the  end  of 
October,  when  the  laves  was  all  fallin'  in  showers, 
and  the  wind  was  moanin'  through  the  deserted 
brandies,  we  follied  him  to  his  grave  ; — the  strong 
and  the  brave  was  low  in  his  youth."  *  Here  poor 
Mrs.  Byrne,  throwing  her  apron  over  her  head  and 
rocking  to  and  fro,  gave  way  to  a  burst  of  grief. 
The  sympathizing  Mrs.  Fehily,  who  was  weeping 
too,  exclaimed  indignantly,  "  Och !  then  I  pray  this 

day  that  the  vengeance  of " 

"  Oh  stop,  Mrs.  Fehily,  dear !  Whist  asthore — 
don't  curse  them !  He  bid  us  not  with  his  dyin' 
breath.  Mother  darlin',  says  he,  the  heart  in  my  body 

*  A  similar  case  occurred  in  Carlow  in  (I  think)  1832  or  1833.  Two  re 
spectable  farmers,  brothers,  who  held  land  under  a  landlord  named  Watson, 
exercised  their  newly-acquired  franchise  by  voting  for  the  liberal  candi 
date.  The  landlord  was  enraged,  and  shortly  after  indicted  them  for  maim 
ing  two  horses,  his  property.  They  were  lodged  in  jail — all  hail  refused  ; 
and  by  some  quibble  of  law  their  trial  was  postponed  from  one  assizes  to 
another  until  they  lay  a  whole  year  in  prison.  At  length  they  were  brought 
to  trial,  and  the  principal  evidence  against  them  was  a  woman  whose 
character  was  so  notoriously  bad  that  there  was  a  burst  of  indignation 
through  the  court  when  she  was  put  upon  the  witness  stand.  The  prison 
ers'  counsel,  on  her  cross-examination,  made  her  contradict  herself  thret 
times.  The  prosecuting  counsel  ordered  her  to  retire,  and  the  men  were 
acquitted.  The  younger  brother,  a  high-spirited  young  man,  was  so  grieved 
by  the  associations  to  which  they  were  exposed,  and  the  hardships  ol 
prison  life,  that  he  sank  rapidly  aud  died  in  a  few  weeks  after  his  release  1 
The  witness,  whose  name  was  Anne  Magee,  her  brother,  and  other  mem 
bers  of  her  family,  had  free  quarters  in  Dublin  Castle  for  years,  and  wer* 
regular  informers  for  the  Crown.  The  present  writer  has  frequently  seen 
her  with  a  brace  of  pistols  in  her  belt,  and  report  said  that  she  carried  * 
dagger  in  her  bosom. 


20  THE   BYKXE3   OE    GLEXGOULAH. 

was  broke  when  they  put  me  in  with  thieves  and 
murderers ;  and  when  I  thought  how  no  one  belong 
MI'  to  me  was  ever  so  disgraced  before,  I  made  up 
my  mind  one  night  in  the  cold  cell  not  to  bear  it  it 
I  was  to  be  hung  for  it ;  and  when  we  were  turned 
into  the  yard  next  mornin',  says  he,  who  should 
be  waitin'  to  see  me  but  Father  Delany — God  lave 
him  his  health !  Well  I  up  and  told  him  what  was  in 
my  mind,  and  he  put  his  hand  on  my  head  and  said 
— mother,  I'll  never  forget  his  words — My  poor 
child  !  says  Father  Delany,  says  he,  I  know  you 
since  the  day  you  were  christened,  and  I  knew  your 
father  and  mother  before  you,  and  its  a  great  trial 
upon  the  son  of  virtuous  parents  ;  but  Andy  asthore, 
says  he,  don't  you  know  who  was  put  between  two 
thieves  and  crucified  in  the  presence  of  His  Blessed 
Mother? — it  was  the  Lord  of  all  glory,  my  dear  son, 
and  he  suffered  it  for  your  sake,  to  teach  you  pa 
tience  and  humility.  Bear  everything  then  manfully 
for  His  sake  who  bore  so  much  for  yours,  and  He 
will  give  you  a  crown  of  glory  and  the  company  of 
the  blessed  saints  and  angels  forever.  It  was  then, 

o  ' 

mother,  that  he  took  the  silver  crucifix  from  his 
own  neck  and  put  it  on  mine,  and  told  me  often  to 
look  at  it  and  think  on  our  blessed  Lord's  sutferins  ; 
and,  mother  darlin',  I  got  quite  calm  and  changed 


THE   BYRNES    OF   GLENGOULAH.  21 

ever  since — 'deed  I'm  thinkin'  it's  obliged  to  them  I 
ought  to  be  that  I'm  goin'  young  from  this  world 
ami  its  hardships.  Sure,  mother  darlin',  this  life  is 
short  and  very  cold,  says  he,  and  we  will  be  all  soon 
together,  where  we  will  never  see  sorra  any  more. 
And,  mother  jewel,  says  he,  don't  let  any  one 
belongin'  to  me  curse  them  that  brought  me  low  in 
my  youth,  for  the  Lord  of  glory  on  the  blessed  cross 
prayed  for  them  that  nailed  him  to  it ;  and  Father 
Delany  says  it's  His  will  that  I'm  goin' — och  !  och  ! 
Mrs.  Fehily,  dear,  it  would  break  your  heart  if  you 
were  to  hear  him  talkin'  like  a  bishop  for  all  the 
world.  My  poor  mother  would  say  to  all,  "  yes,  avic 
machree !  sure  it's  the  truth  you're  spakin',  darlin' 
of  my  heart." 

She  never  left  him  night  nor  day ;  and  when  he 
was  gone  she  was  like  one  stupified. 

The  day  of  the  berrin'  she  took  a  tremlin'  all  over, 
and  we  wanted  her  not  to  go,  but  she  said  she'd  stay 
by  him  while  ever  he'd  be  above  ground.  When 
they  were  n'llin'  up  the  grave  she  stood  by,  and  while 
my  father  and  the  rest  of  us,  even  to  the  neighbors, 
were  cryin'  like  the  rain,  she  never  shed  a  tear,  but, 
risin'  her  hands  and  eyes  to  Heaven,  she  said — in  a 
voice  that  pierced  the  hearts  of  all  present,  for  it 
was  mournful  as  the  cry  of  a  banshee — "  May  God 


22  THE    BYENES    OF    GLEXGOULAH. 

and  His  Blessed  Mother  receive  your  soul  this  day, 
my  darliu'  fair-haired  boy — the  joy  of  my  life  and 
the  light  of  my  eyes — I'm  a  sorrowful,  broken- 
hearted  woman  now."  She  took  the  tremblin' 
again.  We  brought  her  home  and  put  her  to  bed, 
and  she  never  riz  from  it ! — that  day  six  weeks  we 
laid  her  by  the  side  of  Andy.  Och !  but  ours  was 
the  cold,  black  house,  where  there  used  to  be  nothin' 
but  singin'  and  laughin'  the  live  long  day.  My 
poor  father  struggled  the  best  he  could  for  a  year 
and  a  half,  but  the  faver  broke  out — God  bless  the 
hearers — (here  both  women  made  the  sign  of  the 
cross  on  their  foreheads) — and  he  took  it,  and  by 
rason  of  his  bein'  broke  down  by  his  great  troubles 
he  couldn'  stand  it,  so  we  buried  him  too.  And  lit 
tle  Tommy  and  ]S"orah — the  creatures  sickened  and 
died  the  week  after  my  father — we  always  thought 
Andy  and  my  mother  done  that  by  their  prayers 
before  the  weeny  little  ones  knew  what  hardship 
was.  "  Oh,  God  !  rest  all  their  souls  in  glory  this 
day,  Amen  ! "  Oh,  Amen,  amen  !  Mrs.  Byrne,  dear  ! 
— but  glory  be  to  God  !  Sure  if  you  had  your  share 
of  trouble  in  your  young  days,  God  is  makin'  up  to 
you  now  for  it !  Oh,  praises  be  to  His  holy  name !  It's 
true  what  you  say,  Mrs.  Fehily  ;  asthore  it  was  my 
luck  to  get  one  of  the  quietest  men  in  the  seven  par 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH.  23 

ishes,  and  the  most  industrious.  Then  I  have  good 
bidable  children,  thanks  be  to  God  ;  and  my  sisters 
is  all  married  comfortable ; — so,  as  you  say,  Mrs. 
Fehily,  God  is  makin'  up  to  me  sure  enough  for  the 
troubles  of  my  youth,  and  it's  a  great  deal  more  than 
I  deserve."  The  distant  sound  of  Shelton  Abbey  bell, 
ringing  for  the  laborers  to  leave  off  work,  warned 
Mrs.  Fehily  that  supper-time  was  coming.  Hastily 
picking  up  her  ball  of  worsted  which  rolled  upon 
the  floor,  and  sticking  her  needles  in  the  stocking 
she  was  knitting,  she  wished  Mrs.  Byrne  a  good 
evening,  ran  across  the  road,  and  mounting  the 
stile  crossed  into  the  neighboring  field,  where  she 
met  her  husband  and  two  sons  returning  from  work, 
and  they  all  trudged  home  together. 


CHAPTER  HI. 

A  SHOKT  time  after  the  conversation  detailed  in 
the  last  chapter,  one  fine  Sunday,  Tonej  Byrne  and 
his  family  were  coming  down  the  hill  after  hearing 
mass  in  Glengoulah  chapel,  when  they  were  over 
taken  by  Ned  Fehily  and  family.  After  the  usual 
greetings,  commenting  on  the  sermon  delivered  by 
Father  O'Toole,  etc.,  etc.,  Toney  asked  Ned  to  let  the 
women  and  children  walk  on,  and  to  come  with  him. 
and  see  the  oat-field.  So  they  crossed  the  ditch 
through  an  opening  in  the  hawthorn  and  went  over 
the  farm. 

But  few  words  had  passed  between  them  when 
Ned  asked,  "  "Why,  then,  Toney,  is  it  true  what  I 
hear  that  you're  goin'  to  get  your  little  girl  marrid  V 
"  Well,  'deed  I  dun  know  yet,  Ned ;  she's  speakin' 
to  a  boy  of  the  Donohoes  of  Cool-a-glisson,  in  the 
county  Wexford,  and  the  mother  is  mighty  partial  to 
the  match,  but  I  didn't  give  in  yet."  "  And  why  not, 
Toney  ?  Sure  I  know  Bartle  Donohoe  well,  and 
a  clane  likely  boy  he  is,  and  more  betoken  the  child 
of  as  dacent  a  father  and  mother  as  any  in  the  same 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULA.il.  25 

county,  though  I  know  he's  no  match  for  one  of  the 
Byrnes  if  things  was  as  they  ought."  "  Oh !  be 
dad,  the  sorra  fault  I  have  to  find  with  him  on  that 
score,  oh  no  !  I  have  a  mighty  great  regard,  indade, 
for  the  same  boy ;  and  sure  Father  Esmond  tells  me 
he  got  a  great  account  of  him  entirely  from  his  own 
parish  priest.  It  isn't  that  at  all ;  but  you  see,  Ned, 
I  have  to  look  into  the  well-bein'  of  my  little  girl ; 
and  what  I  don't  like  is  this :  You  see  Tom  Donohoe 
has  four  other  boys  besides  Bartle,  and  I  belave 
three  daughters ;  and  though  he  has  a  fine  well- 
stocked  farm,  and  holds  under  Earl  Fitzwilliam — 
one  of  the  best  landlords  in  Ireland — still  and  all 
if  he  goes  to  divide  up  his  farm  between  the  boys 
it  will  leave  each  of  them  only  a  strugglin'  livelihood, 
and  I  think  Margie  can  do  better  than  that;  the 
colleen  is  young,  and  has  plenty  of  time  before  her. 
So  1  told  Bartle  my  mind  a  fortnight  ago,  and  he 
agreed  to  wait  awhile  and  see  if  some  arrangement 
could  be  made.  He  came  to  tell  me,  a  few  days  ago, 
he  heard  a  report  that  Pat  Hanlon  of  Moyglish  is 
talkin'  of  goin'  to  America.  Pat  has  an  uncle  in 
Canada  that's  goin'  to  leave  him  a  power  of  money, 
and  he  speaks  of  goin'  out  to  him  with  his  wife  and 
child — you  know  he  has  but  the  one  little  slip 
of  a  girl — and  in  case  he  does  go,  he'll  be  givin' 


i5t)  THC   BYEXES    OF   GLEXGOULAH. 

up  his  farm ;  so  Bartle  set  off  a  Friday  to  see  the 
eail,  and  get  a  promise  of  the  first  chance  in  it.  If 
God  gives  him  luck  it  will  be  a  great  rise 
entirely  for  him,  and  plaze  goodness  I'll  give  him 
some  help  to  stock  it ;  but  sure  we  don't  know — it's 
all  in  the  hands  of  the  great  God,  and  we  must  wait 
with  patience,  glory  be  to  His  holy  name." 

Having  inspected  the  oat,  potato,  and  wheat  crops, 
and  expressed  their  hopes  and  fears  on  their  appear 
ance,  Toney  repaired  to  Fehily's  farm,  which  was 
adjoining,  to  make  the  same  inspection,  and  both 
then  went  to  their  respective  homes. 

During  the  week  Bartle  Donohoe,  the  suitor  of 
Margaret  Byrne,  came  to  inform  her  father  of  his 
interview  with  Earl  Fitzwilliam,  and  his  entire 
success. 

It  was  true  that  Pat  Hanlon  was  resigning  his 
farm  ;  and  the  earl  wrote  a  letter  to  his  agent,  Cap 
tain  Johnson,  requesting  that  Bartle  Donohoe  should 
have  the  preference  before  any  one.  He  was  quite 
delighted  with  the  kind  consideration  with  which 
the  earl  inquired  after  his  tenants  and  their  fami 
lies,  making  inquiries  also  after  their  comforts,  ho 
ping  the  stock  had  escaped  the  sickness  which  was 
prevalent  in  a  barony  not  far  distant.  A  widowed 
tenant  of  his  lordship,  who  had  been  deficient  in  her 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH.  27 

rent  in  consequence   of  the  loss   of  several  head  of 
black  cattle  from  this  cause,  came  to  ask  an  exten 
sion  of  time  while  Bartle  was  there.     The  earl  ex 
pressed  great  regret  at  the  losses  she  sustained,  as 
sured  her  she  should  not  only  have  time,  but  that, 
knowing  her  to  be  an  industrious  improving  tenant 
and  a  widow,  she  should  be  allowed  for  every  head 
of  cattle  she  lost  on  presenting  a  statement  of  their 
value  to  the   agent.     "  The   captain   did  not   act 
harshly,  did  he  ? "  said  the  earl.     "  Oh  no,  indeed, 
my  lord,"  replied  the  poor  woman,  while   tears   of 
gratitude  filled  her  eyes, — "  oh  no,  indeed ;  he  only 
sent  for  his  rent,  and  sure  that's  what  he  had  a  right 
to  do  ;  but  it  fretted  me  not  to  have  it  for  him,  and 
I  made  up  my  mind  I'd  come  and   speak  to  your 
lordship.    I  knew  I'd  be  sure  to  meet  with  considera 
tion  if  I'd  see  you — may  God  shower  his  choicest 
blessings  on  your  house  this  day !     Oh  no,  my  lord, 
the  captain  never  distressed   me  a  bit."     "If  he 
did,  I'd  distress  him,"  said  the  earl.     "  I  will   not 
allow  such  acts  to  be  done  on  my  estate."  *     Both 
Bartle  and  the  widow  retired  blessing  God  for  giv 
ing  them  so  good  a  landlord.     Oh,  that  the  landed 
proprietors  of  Ireland  could  only  be  made  to  under- 

*  Thii  conversation  actually  occurred ;  but  since  then,  unhappily,  tho 
papers  report  him  to  have  become  au  exterminator  like  the  rest.  Such  i» 
the  force  of  bad  example. 


28  THE   BYRNES   OF   GLEXGOULAH. 

stand  their  own  interests  !  If  they  would  but  make 
themselves  acquainted  with  the  character  of  the 
people  over  whom  they  exercise  so  much  power,  and 
then  act  towards  them  with  simple  justice,  showing 
that  consideration  for  their  feelings  which  God  cer 
tainly  intended  one  human  being  to  have  for  anoth 
er,  what  a  life  of  inborn  happiness  would  they  not 
enjoy  in  this  life,  not  to  speak  of  their  prospects  in 
the  life  to  come  ! 

Toney  Byrne  had  now  no  further  opposition  to 
make  to  his  daughter's  marriage,  and  accordingly 
Margaret  and  Bartle  Donohoe  were  married  in  about 
ten  days  from  his  interview  with  Lord  Fitzwilliam. 
They  had  a  genuine  Irish  wedding ;  the  table  was 
laid  in  the  long  barn,  graced  with  many  fine  tur- 
£eys,  geese,  chickens,  rounds  of  beef,  sirloins  of  ditto, 
plum  puddings,  apple  dumplings,  every  kind  of 
pakes,  fruits,  etc.,  and  wine  and  whiskey  ad  libitum. 
But  I  presume  most  of  my  readers  have  been  to  Irish 
weddings  before  now,  and  it  is  unnecessary  to  describe 
how  the  venerable  Father  Esmond  sat  at  the  head  of 
the  table,  how  Father  O'Tool  occupied  the  next  seat 
of  distinction,  how  the  parish  priest  blessed  and  cut 
the  wedding  cake,  helping  the  bridesmaid  to  the  first 
cut,  how  she  made  believe  to  be  eating  but  reserved 
the  greater  part  to  divide  amongst  her  young  friends 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOtTLAH.  29 

for  the  purpose  of  dreaming  on  it,  how  when  the 
priest  retired  the  tables  were  cleared  away,  and  the 
fiddlers  and  pipers  and  dancers  all  commenced  in  ear 
nest,  how  they  danced  in  the  barn  and  in  every  room 
in  the  house  until  the  small  hours  of  the  morning, 
when  the  guests,  after  many  affectionate  good-byes, 
took  their  departure,  praying  long  life  and  happiness 
to  the  young  couple.  My  readers  have  enjoyed  all 
this  before,  and  I  therefore  merely  glance  at  it. 
A  few  days  after  the  wedding  Bartle  Donohoe  took 
his  bride  to  his  father's,  where  they  were  to  remain 
until  his  own  farmhouse  was  vacated. 

The  hauling  home  was  another  scene  of  festivity. 
Her  father,  eldest  brother,  and  some  near  relatives, 
accompanied  them.  All  rode  on  horseback;  Mar 
garet  was  mounted  on  a  pillion  behind  her  husband. 
Some  miles  from  Donohoe's  farm  Bartle's  father,  his 
two  oldest  brothers,  and  a  band  of  neighbors,  came 
to  meet  them  on  horseback  and  formed  a  guard  of 
honor  to  welcome  the  young  bride,  who  blushingly 
thanked  them  for  their  attention,  and  smiled  through 
the  tears  she  had  been  shedding  all  day  after  parting 
with  her  mother  and  sister. 

"  All  the  world  and  his  wife  "  were  assembled  at 
the  farm,  and  another  joyous  scene  similar  to  the 
wedding  took  place.  Next  day,  after  many  tears 


30  THE  BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH. 

fond  erabracings,  and  blessings  on  his  child,  Toney 
Byrne  and  his  escort  returned  to  Gleugoulah.  They 
passed  Mr.  De  Courcy's  mills  on  their  way  home, 
and  met  Tom  Moody,  the  under  steward,  coming  out 
of  the  office.  Calling  Toney  one  side  he  told  him 
strange  news.  Mr.  De  Courcy  had  received  letters 
from  London  that  morning,  announcing  the  death 
of  Sir  Charles  Plover.  He  had  been  killed  in  a  duel 
by  a  colonel  in  her  majesty's  life-guards,  with  whom 
he  had  a  dispute  at  play.  The  melancholy  event 
took  place  near  Dieppe,  in  France,  whither  they  had 
gone  to  evade  the  law.  Sir  Charles  Plover  had 
never  married,  consequently  the  estate  must  pass 
into  the  hands  of  the  nearest  of  kin,  who  was  his 
first  cousin,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Wilson  Biggs,  who 
was  rector  of  Christ  Church,  Nottingham,  England. 
Poor  Toney  Byrne  heard  this  news  with  a  sad 
heart,  for  though  the  landlord  was  nothing  to  him — 
none  of  the  tenantry  had  ever  seen  him — still  he 
foreboded  evil  the  moment  he  heard  the  new  land 
lord  was  an  Anglican  minister.  "  1  wonder  will  Mr. 
De  Courcy  act  as  agent  still,  Mr.  Moody  ? "  asked 
Toney  of  the  steward.  "  That's  more  than  any  of 
us  can  tell,  Mr.  Byrne ;  but  I  don't  see  any  reason 
why  he  wouldn't — I'm  sure  he  knows  the  property 
better  than  any  one,  and  he  understands  the  people — 


THE   BYKNES    OF   GLENGOULAH.  31 

unless  he  gets  tired  of  it  and  gives  it  up  himself.  I 
think  the  new  landlord  ought  to  be  very  glad  to  give 
it  to  him."  "  God  grant  he  may  keep  it,  then,"  saiY 
Toney,  fervently,  "  for  he's  a  fair  and  honorable 
gentleman." 

Poor  Mrs.  Byrne  had  been  inconsolable  from  the 
time  she  parted  with  her  dear  child,  and  renewed 
her  sorrow  when  she  saw  her  husband  returning 
without  her ;  but  she  soon  dried  her  eyes  when  Toney 
said : 

"  Don't  be  foolish,  Kitty ;  give  thanks  to  God  that 
your  daughter  hits  a  dacent  boy  and  a  comfortable 
home  under  a  good  landlord ;  not  at  all  like  her 
father  and  mother,  I'm  afraid.  I  met  Tom  Moody 
at  the  mills  below,  and  he  tells  me  news  came  from 
London  this  mornin'  that  Sir  Charles  is  dead,  and 
the  new  landlord  is  a  Protestant  minister ;  so  God 
between  us  and  harm,  this  day !  But,  Kitty,  my 
heart  bodes  no  good  to  ourselves  or  our  neighbors. 
I'm  afraid  there's  a  black  cloud  gatherin'  a  top  of 
Glengoulah  hill." 

"  Oh,  Christ  protect  us  !  Toney,  avic ! "  exclaimed 
his  wife,  arising  from  her  seat  with  staring  eyes. 
"  Is  it  the  truth  you're  spakin' ;  or  are  you  only 
frightenin'  me  a  purpose  to  keep  me  from  frettin' 
after  Margie  ? " 


32  THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOUJ.AH. 

"  Bedad,  it's  the  truth  I'm  telliu'  you,  Kitty  ;  and 
sorry  I  am  to  have  to  tell  it." 

"  Oh  the  cross  of  Christ  about  us  and  preserve  us ! " 
And  Kitty  made  the  holy  sign  on  her  forehead,  lips, 
and  breast,  and  courtesied  devoutly.  "  Och,  wirrah, 
wirrah,  this  day  !  Luck  nor  grace  can't  come  where 
one  of  them  black  divils  has  any  hand — God  forgive 
me — but  sure  I  know  the  breed  of  old.  Don't  I 
mind  when  my  poor  brother  Andy  was  put  in  for 
beatin'  the  tithe  proctor — God  rest  his  soul,  amen  !" 
(Mrs.  Bryne  certainly  meant  her  brother's  soul,  not 
the  tithe  proctor's).  "  Didn't  my  mother  go  to  the 
minister  to  ask  him  to  spake  a  word  fur  the  poor 
boy,  seein'  he  was  young  and  hot  in  himself,  and 
was  aggravated  by  reason  of  her  bein'  oifended. 
Didn't  the  ould  hypocrite  snuffle  through  his  nose 
and  tell  her  she  reared  her  son  bad  ;  that  she  ought 
to  tache  him  to  be  meek  and  humble,  and  to  folly 
the  scriptures,  and  if  he  was  struck  on  one  cheek  to 
turn  the  other  ?  My  poor  mother  was  the  mildest 
and  pacefulest  woman  that  ever  lived.  You'd  won 
der  if  you  saw  how  patient  and  gentle  she  looked. 
To  think  any  one  could  have  the  heart  to  spake  that 
way  to  her,  and  she  in  trouble! — she  riz  up  and 
walked  from  the  room  without  another  word,  she 
was  chokin'." 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH.  33 

Young  Andy  Byrne,  who  was  listening  to  his 
mother  with  flashing  eyes  and  burning  cheeks,  said 
quickly  :  "  Mother,  who  was  with  ray  grandmother 
when  he  said  that?"  "No  one,  alanna  ;  she  was 
loath  to  take  any  one  with  her,  afraid  they  might  re 
fuse  to  let  her  see  the  minister  if  there  was  another 
by." 

"  I  wish  I  was  by,  and  to  be  as  big  as  I  am  now  ; 
I'd  give  him  a  rap  in  his  ould  jaw,  and  I'd  see  if  he'd 
turn  tli'  other  side.  " 

"  Oh  whist,  Andy,  avic  machree !"  said  his  moth 
er  with  a  shudder ;  and  drawing  him  towards  her  she 
laid  his  head  on  her  bosom,  and  passing  her  hand 
through  his  fair  clustering  hair,  she  made  the  sign  of 
the  cross  on  his  forehead,  murmuring  fervently  :  "God 
bless  my  own  bouchleen  bawn,  and  mark  him  to 
grace,  and  preserve  him  from  sin,  accidents,  and 
dangers." 

"  Musha,  mother  !"  exclaimed  Andy,  jumping  np 
and  cutting  a  caper  on  the  floor ;  "  one  would  think 
I  was  goin'  to  kick  the  minister  now,  you're  so  fright 
ened;  'deed  if  I  was  with  my  grandmother  that  day 
I'd  give  him  a  polthogue,  just  to  see  how  he'd  take 
it ;  he's  too  ould  now  if  he'd  be  alive  at  all,  but  I 
suppose  the  divil  got  him  long  ago." 

"  Oh,  fie  upon  you,  Andy,  honey  !     Don't  talk  that 


34  THE   BYKXES   OF   GLENGOULA.  H. 

way ;  sure  you  know  we're  not  allowed  to  judge 
any  one." 

"  Och  musha,  mother  astliore  !  Don't  I  know  you 
mid  my  father  and  the  priest  is  sayin'  that  always ; 
but  sure  I  know  very  well  God  Almighty  has  no 
hand  in  such  ould  varmint  and  hypocrites,  and  he 
must  belong  to  one  side  or  the  other;  anyway  it's 
well  for  his  ould  jaw  I  wasn't  near  him  that  day. 
Hooroosh !  there's  the  spotted  calf  runnin'  through  the 
meadow  like  mad."  And  away  bounded  Andy  in  high 
glee  for  the  chase.  His  mother  looked  after  him  with 
a  mixture  of  pride  and  sadness.  Turning  from  the 
door,  she  said  to  herself:  "Well,  hasn't  he  the.  noble 
sperit  all  out?  Thanks  and  praises  be  to  the  great 
God  for  all  things !  He's  a  Malone  to  the  backbone." 

"Tony,  who  had  lit  his  pipe  after  entering  the  house, 
sat  back  in  the  chimney-corner.  Keeping  his  eyes 
fixed  on  the  fire,  and  being  entirely  absorbed  in  puff 
ing  and  watching  the  blaze  as  it  flickered  in  and  out 
of  the  turf  pile,  he  heeded  not  what  was  passing  be 
tween  his  wife  and  son.  Advancing  now  to  meet 
her,  as  she  turned  from  watching  Andy,  he  said : 
"  Kitty,  I'm  after  goin'  over  in  my  mind  the 
way  we're  in  at  present,  and  I  don't  like  how  things 
look,  but  I  see  no  way  of  bettering  ourselves  ;  so  I 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  best  thins:  we  can  do 


THE   BYRMSa   OF   GLEtfGOULAII.  35 

4 

is  to  remember  we're  in  the  hands  of  God,  and  to  go 
on  doin'  our  duty  and  We  it  all  to  Him.  Thanks 
be  to  His  holy  name  we've  everything  snug  and  com 
fortable  around  us,  and  we  have  our  rent  ready,  and 
what  need  we  care  ?  We  never  seen  Sir  Charles's 
face,  and  maybe  this  ma/i  would  stay  in  England  too, 
and  lave  the  estate  to  be  managed  by  Mr.  De  Courcy, 
and  sure,  if  he  does,  it  will  make  no  differ  to  us  who  is 
landlord  ;  howsomever,  let  it  go  what  way  it  will,  we 
can't  better  it  by  frettin'  about  it,  so  welcome  be  the 
will  of  God." 

Poor  Kitty  tried  hard  to  take  the  same  philosophic 
view  of  affairs  as  her  husband  ;  but  it  was  plain  her 
spirit  chafed  under  the  bare  idea  of  holding  their 
farm,  which  belonged  to  the  Brynes,  father  and  son, 
for  generations,  at  the  will  of  a  member  of  that  body 
which  made  itself  most  obnoxious  to  the  people  in  all 
parts  of  the  country,  and  which  poor  Kitty  had  good 
reason  to  dread  as  the  bitterest  enemy  of  her  faith 
and  race.  She  therefore  merely  shook  her  head, 
saying  with  a  sigh  :  "  Maybe  so,  asthore;  maybe  so; 
God  is  good  !"  and  calling  "Winefred  to  her  they  took 
their  snow-white  pails  and  went  to  the  byre  to  milk 
the  cows,  which  now  came  slowly  into  the  yard  chew 
ing  the  cud,  and  taking  observations  with  their  mild 
intelligent  eyes. 


CHAPTER  IY. 

ABOUT  a  month  after  the  wedding  of  Margaret 
Byrne  her  mother  and  sister  were  busy  spinning 
away  to  make  a  stock  of  house  linen  for  the  winter, 
Mrs.  Byrne  having  sent  a  chest  full  to  Margaret  as 
her  mother's  wedding  gift ;  and  her  stock  being 
greatly  reduced  thereby,  they  were  working  away 
to  replace  it,  when  a  horse  and  rider  turned  into  the 
front  yard,  and  stopping  .at  the  porch  the  rider 
alighted.  He  was  a  stout  portly  man,  apparently 
about  fifty  years  of  age,  with  a  mild  benevolent 
countenance,  his  hair  slightly  sprinkled  with  silver, 
and  his  whole  air,  garb  and  bearing  carrying  unmis 
takable  evidence  of  the  true  gentleman.  Mrs.  Byrne, 
hurriedly  calling  Mike  to  hold  the  horse,  ran  out, 
and,  courtesying,  welcomed  Mr.  De  Courcy  to  the 
farm.  Taking  off  his  hat  he  entered  the  farm-house, 
saluted  Winefred  kindly,  and,  taking  a  seat,  com 
plimented  her  on  her  industry,  inquired  what  she 
had  been  spinning  (for  Winnie  arose  to  make  obei 
sance  on  his  entrance,  but  did  not  through  politeness 
resume  her  noisy  occupation),  and  whether  she  found 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLEKGOULAH  37 

it  productive  ;  asked  Mrs.  Byrne  after  her  husband 
and  the  boys,  and  what  progress  the}T  were  making ; 
inquired  how  the  young  summer  stock  got  on,  and 
whether  she  still  bore  off  the  palm  for  her  butter, 
poultry,  etc.  Mrs.  Byrne  gave  him  all  the  satisfac 
tion  she  could.  He  admired  the  neat  arrangements 
of  the  flower  beds  in  the  grass  plot  before  the  door, 
and  seemed  highly  pleased  with  the  look  of  comfort 
and  industry  which  the  whole  place  presented,  not 
forgetting  to  note  the  flitches  of  bacon  and  coils  of 
hogs'  puddings  suspended  from  the  ceiling.  He 
then  told  Mrs.  Byrne  they  were  going  to  have  a  res 
ident  landlord. 

Unlike  Sir  Charles  Plover,  who  had  never  been  in 
Ireland  since  he  was  a  boy,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Biggs  was 
coming  to  reside  amongst  them.  Orders  had  been 
received  to  put  Glengonlah  Castle  in  immediate 
repair,  and  artizans  of  all  kinds  were  coming  to 
decorate  it  in  the  highest  style  of  art.  Splendid 
furniture  was  ordered  from  Paris,  and  a  regular 
suite  of  English  servants  coming  to  take  charge 
of  all  domestic  arrangements.  Mr.  Biggs  ex 
pected  to  be  settled  in  his  future  residence  by 
Christmas. 

"  I  understand,"  said  Mr.  De  Courcy,  "  he  has  ei- 
fected  an  exchange  with  the  present  rector  of  this 


38  THE    BYRNES    OF    GLENGOFLAH. 

parish,  and  intends  to  rule  in  the  double  capacity  of 
landlord  and  rector." 

"  Well,  the  Lord  break  hard  fortune  before  us  ! 
Bnt  I'm  mighty  sorry  to  hear  it,  your  honor ;  I'm 
afraid  luck  and  grace  and  happiness  are  leavin'  us 
behind  them  ;"  and  poor  Mrs.  Byrne  rocked  to  and 
fro,  as  was  her  wont  when  her  mind  was  troubled. 
"Oh,  don't  say  that,  Mrs.  Byrne,"  said  the  agent, 
cheerfully.  "  Don't  you  know  one  of  the  worst  evils 
of  Ireland  is  absenteeism,  or  the  landlord  making  his 
residence  in  a  foreign  land  and  not  looking  person 
ally  after  the  condition  of  his  tenantry  ?  And  now 
Mr.  Biggs  is  going  to  repair  that  evil  by  residing 
amongst  you  all,  and  watching  over  your  interests.'" 

"  Oh  no,  sir;  it  may  be  true  what  you  say,  that  a 
landlord  has  a  right  to  look  to  his  tenants.  If  they 
all  done  it,  then  one  would  be  ashamed  of  the  other 
not  to  act  like  a  gentleman  ;  but  where  there's  only 
one  they're  more  like  to  be  a  tyrant.  Anyway,  may 
God  long  preserve  your  honor !  "We  didn't  know  the 
bad  of  an  absentee  landlord  while  we  had  you.  Oh, 
Mr.  De  Courcy,  dear !  sure  you  won't  lave  us  ? " 

"  I  really  cannot  tell  yet,  Mrs.  Byrne.  I  should 
be  very  sorry,  indeed,  to  part  with  the  tenantry  of 
Glengoulah  estate,  for  I  have  found  them  thoroughly 
upright,  peaceable  people,  kind  neighbors,  and  good 


THE   BYRNES    OF   GLENGOULA.H.  39 

friends.  I  really  feel  a  kind  of  affection  for  every 
one  on  the  estate,  and  I  believe  they  love  me  too." 
Mr.  De  Courcy's  voice  trembled  as  he  said  the  latter 
words.  It  was  evident  (though  he  did  not  express  it) 
he  boded  no  good  from  the  clerical  landlord'.  As 
for  poor  Mrs.  Byrne,  she  and  Winnie  cried  outright, 
and  could  not  speak  a  word.  "  However,  it  is  all 
foolish  to  think  on  it  yet,"  said  Mr.  De  Courcy, 
brightening  up.  "  We  may  be  pleased  all  round  by 
the  change.  The  English  landlords  are  very  kind 
and  just  to  their  tenantry  in  their  own  country,  and 
Mr.  Biggs  may  be  one  of  the  best  of  them  for  aught 
we  know.  Remember,  I  know  as  little  about  him 
as  any  of  you.  Rest  assured,  Mrs.  Byrne,  I  shall  not, 
give  up  the  management  of  the  estate  as  long  as  I 
can  retain  it  with  honor  to  myself  and  good  to  the 
tenantry.  Please  tell  Byrne  to  bring  his  lea.se  to 
my  office  during  the  course  of  the  week,  as  I  am 
putting  my  affairs  in  order."  And  so  taking  a  amil- 
ing  adieu,  he  patted  Mike  on  the  head,  slipped  a 
half-crown  into  his  hand  unknown  to  his  mother, 
and  mounting  his  horse  rode  away. 

Mr.  De  Courcy,  after  leaving  Toney  Byrne's  farm, 
rode  on  about  three  miles  over  the  beautiful  "  Cas 
cade  mountain,"  as  it  was  poetically  and  truthfully 
named,  for  hundreds  of  tiny  waterfalls  came  bound 


40  THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH. 

ing  through  the  variegated  shrubs,  over  moss-covered 
rocks,  and  made  the  hills  musical  with  their  murmur 
ing  glee  as  they  rushed  down  to  meet  the  Avon 
and  flow  into  the  lovely  vale  of  Ovoca.  Beyond 
this  hill,  and  between  it  and  another  cone-shaped  hill, 
crowned  on  top  with  a  clump  of  mountain  ash,  was 
a  verdant  plain  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide. 
In  the  centre  of  this  plain  nestled  a  large  thriving 
village,  almost  pretending  to  be  a  town  (in  America 
it  would  be  called  a  city).  Here  was  a  green  where  an 
annual  cattle-fair  was  held,  and  at  the  end  of  this 
green  stood  a  goodly-sized  stone  building  of  cruci 
form  shape,  destitute  of  ornament  save  a  stone  cross 
of  modest  dimensions  at  the  termination  of  the  ga 
ble,  which  faced  the  entrance.  Over  the  principal 
door,  which  was  a  double  one  grained  in  oak,  were 
the  initials  I.  H.  S.,  so  well  known  to  every  Catho 
lic  to  signify  "  Jesus,  Saviour  of  men."  The  back  of 
this  building  was  shaded  by  a  grove  of  oak,  elm,  and 
ash-trees,  commingled.  Beside  it  stood  a  magnifi 
cent  elm  towering  above  all,  and  bearing  high  up  in 
its  branches  a  bell  of  humble  size,  from  which  a 
simple  rope  most  unpoetically  dangled,  or  was  tied 
around  the  trunk  ;  nevertheless  that  modest  bell 
made  music  amongst  the  mountain  echoes,  as  from 
its  Jenfy  spire  it  called  the  faithful  children  of  the 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH.  4 

Church  to  come  and  assist  at  the  adorable  sacrifice. 
The  ground  on  which  this  building  stood  covered  a 
considerable  space,  and  was  enclosed  by  a  rustic  pa 
ling,  which  could  now  be  scarcely  discerned  through 
the  thickly-interlaced  hedge  of  sweet-brier  and  wild 
roses.  Within  this  enclosure,  and  all  around  the 
building,  with  the  exception  of  the  neatly -gravelled 
pathway,  the  grass  was  thick,  soft  as  Genoa  velvet, 
and  literally  bespangled  with  daisies  and  buttercups. 
Long  green  mounds  were  strewn  around :  some  with 
head-stones,  simple  and  quaint  enough ;  some  with  a 
plain  stone  cross ;  some  with  a  rose-bush  at  the  head ; 
but  the  greater  number  with  no  mark  save  that 
known  to  the  eye  of  affection,  which  never  makes  a 
mistake.  All  told  "  the  short  and  simple  annals  of 
the  poor.  "  Dear  reader,  this  is  the  village  and  par 
ish  chapel  of  Tinmanogue,  and  the  little  churchyard 
is  the  principal  bury  ing-place  of  the  neighboring 
hills.  That  substantial-looking  cottage  beside  the 
chapel,  embowered  amongst  the  trees,  with  its  bright 
flower-garden  in  front,  is  the  residence  of  the  be 
loved  parish  priest  of  Tinmanogue  and  his  almost 
equally  beloved  curate.  The  hillsides  and  the  plains 
around  are  dotted  with  farm-houses  and  the  cottages 
of  the  farm  laborers,  all  bearing  the  same  look  of 
neatness  and  comfort,  for  it  is  still  the  estate  of  the 


42  THE   BYRNES    OF    GLENGOULAH. 

late  Sir  Charles  Plover,  and  now  the  property  of  the 
Rev.  Samuel  Wilson  Biggs. 

Mr.  De  Courcy  on  coming  in  sight  of  Tinma 
nogue  let  the  bridle  fall  loosely  on  the  neck  of  his 
horse,  and  turning  to  look  on  every  side,  surveyed 
the  lovely  prospect  with  feelings  of  pleasure  and 
regret.  He  felt  that  inward  satisfaction  which  every 
just  man  feels  in  looking  upon  the  effects  of  his 
good  works,  and  then  came  the  sense  of  deep 
regret  which  he  could  not  shake  oft',  for  he  knew 

O  ' 

he  would  soon  be  as  a  stranger  amongst  those  farms 
whose  prosperity  he  had  watched  with  paternal  care  ; 
and  though  he  well  knew  he  would  ever  live  in  the 
warm  affections  of  the  grateful  people,  he  also  knew 
they  would  soon  be  surrounded  by  trials  from  which 
he  could  not  extricate  them. 

Arriving  at  the  shady  cottage  he  was  shown  into 
the  modest  parlor.  The  furniture  was  plain,  sub 
stantial,  and  beautifully  clean.  It  bore  a  strong 
resemblance  in  many  points  to  Goldsmith's  celebrat 
ed  room,  for  the  sanded  floor  was  there,  and  the 
clock  -ticking  behind  the  door ;  the  green  boughs- 
were  in  the  fire-place,  and  the  chest  of  drawers  con 
triving  to  pay  a  double  debt — not  in  the  same  sense, 
however,  for  it  was  not  a  bed  either  by  night  or  by 
day;  but  the  top  part  was  a  writing-desk  and  bureau, 


THE   BYKNE3   OF    GLENGOULAH.  43 

being  the  depository  of  the  parish  registries,  and  all 
other  important  papers,  while  the  under  part  was  a 
chest  of  drawers ;  it  was  of  old  fashioned  mahogony, 
and  had  massive  handles  and  ornamental  key-holes 
of  the  brightest  brass.  In  place  of  "the  twelve 
good  rules  and  royal  game  of  goose,"  the  walls 
were  hung  with  a  plain,  neat  paper,  and  suspended 
thereon  were  some  rare  pictures — for  Father  Esmond 
was  a  lover  of  the  beautiful  in  art,  and  brought  those 
with  him  from  France.  Ireland  in  his  young  days 
had  no  means  of  educating  her  sons  for  the  priesthood, 
as  the  odious  penal  laws  were  still  in  force.  Father 
Esmond,  therefore,  had  been  sent,  with  many  other 
students,  to  France,  to  study  his  ecclesiastical  course, 
and  had  returned  a  learned  and  holy  priest. 

Between  the  windows  was  an  exquisite  engraving 
of  the  "  Ecce  Homo."  Over  the  bureau  a  well- 
executed  copy  of  Carlo  Dolci's  "  Holy  Family." 
Over  the  sideboard  a  fine  engraving  of  Raphael's 
"Last  Supper."  In  the  recesses  of  the  fire-place 
were  the  "  Annunciation"  and  the  "  Baptism  of  Our 
Lord,"  both  matches,  finely  finished,  and  in  old- 
fashioned  oval  frames.  But  the  masterpiece  of  all, 
and  the  glory  of  the  old  pastor's  heart,  was  an  old 
oil  painting  over  the  mantelpiece — it  was  the  "  Re 
pentance  of  St.  Peter,"  and  was  indeed  a  gem. 


44:  THE    BYKNKS    OF    GLENGOTJLAH. 

Mr.  De  Courcy,  who  was  an  enthusiastic  admirer 
of  the  fine  arts,  stood  entranced  before  it  for  some 
time,  and  then  passed  to  the  others.  Looking 
through  a  side  window  he  saw  an  equally  fine  living 
picture.  A  venerable  man,  evidently  more  than 
eighty  summers,  with  a  benign  and  smiling  counte 
nance,  was  standing  beside  a  clear  pond  in  the  hol 
low  of  a  verdant  field.  He  was  a  little  above  the 
middle  height  and  of  a  rotund  form,  his  dress  was 
black  save  a  pair  of  dark-gray  stockings  which  en 
cased  his  stout,  well-formed  legs,  which,  whenever 
he  went  abroad,  or  expected  company,  were  again 
covered  by  black-cloth  leggings,  terminating  in  a  pair 
of  thick  shoes  fastened  by  silver  buckles  of  a  depart 
ed  age.  On  his  head  he  wore  the  three-cornered 
tonsure  cap  peculiar  to  his  sacred  office ;  his  long 
snow-white  hair  flowing  underneath  was  stirred  by 
the  gentle  breeze.  In  his  hand  he  held  a  small  bas 
ket  from  which  he  scattered  wheat  and  breadcrumbs 
to  a  numerous  flock  of  geese,  ducks,  and  chickens, 
alternately  scolding,  petting,  and  laughing  heartily 
at  the  scramble  amongst  the  fowls.  A  couple  of  aris 
tocratic  ducks,  disdaining  to  enter  the  crowd  of  beg 
gars,  stood  a  little  apart  with  an  eye  cocked  up,  as 
much  as  to  say,  "  Here  we  are,  waiting  in  dignified 
expectation."  They  were  now  addressed :  "Indeed, 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH.  45 

then,  you  shall,  Juno,  have  some  nice  crumbs,  yourself 
and  Ceres,  just  because  you  are  not  fighting  about 
it.  Down,  Caesar;  down,  sir;"  and  away  went 
ducks  and  geese  plunging  into  the  pond,  while  the 
chickens  with  extended  wings  ran  screaming  away 
to  the  barn-yard.  This  commotion  amongst  them 
was  excited  by  Mrs.  Malone  opening  the  little  yard- 
gate  leading  to  the  field  to  tell  his  reverence  how  a 
visitor  awaited  him,  contrary,  however,  to  the  express 
injunctions  of  Mr.  De  Courcy,  who  assured  the 
house-keeper  he  was  in  no  hurry,  and  would  prefer 
awaiting  the  leisure  of  Father  Esmond. 

Mrs.  Malone,  after  delaying  a  little,  got  on  the  fidg 
ets,  and  the  moment  she  opened  the  gate  out  bounded 
Caesar,  a  splendid  mastiff,  who  had  been  wistfully 
watching  the  gate  ever  since  his  master's  egress,  and 
now  sent  the  poor  chickens  flying  in  all  directions. 
Father  Esmond  entered  the  house  immediately. 
"  My  dear  friend,  Mr.  De  Courcy,"  said  he,  extending 
both  hands ;  "  I  ana  quite  rejoiced  to  see  you  ;  you 
are  heartily  welcome  to  Tinmanogue-;  bless  my  soul 
how  glad  I  am  to  see  you  !  And  you  are  here  some 
time,  Mrs.  Malone  tells  me,  and  would  not  let  me  be 
called — now  what's  that  for  ?  You  wanted  to  surprise 
me,  did  you?"  His  eye  now  caught  a  stray  glance 
of  Mr.  De  Courcy's  wandering  over  the  fire-place. 


46  THE  BYRNES   OF   GfLEXGOULAH. 

1  Ah.  HA  !  I  see  it  all  now ;  I  have  the  secret.  You 
were  examining  my  '  St.  Peter'."  Mr.  De  Courcy 
pleaded  guilty.  "Well,  I  forgive  you — it  is  not 
every  day  you  meet  with  a  picture  like  that.  My 
dear  sir,  that  picture  would  take  whole  weeks  to 
view  properly.  Many  an  hour  I  remain  before  it 
and  yet  discover  new  beauties  continually.  Now 
just  stand  in  this  light  and  catch  the  expression  ol 
that  face.  Look  !  there  is  true  repentance  for  you !  " 

"  Indeed,  Father  Esmond,  I  never  saw  anything 
more  perfect ;  he  seems  truly  the  rugged  fisherman. 
I  fancy  he  has  just  moored  his  smack,  awaiting  the 
morrow's  dawn  to  be  off  again." 

"Yes,  just  so;  the  weather-beaten  fisherman — • 
his  hair  seems  to  stand  out  as  if  still  blown  about 
by  the  gales  from  lake  Galilee;  his  garment  flies 
open  and  bares  his  breast  to  the  breeze,  but  he  heeds 
not  all  that.  Oh,  my  friend !  just  look  at  those 
sun-embrowned  hands  clasped  together  so  closely; 
don't  you  think  they  seem  to  quiver  with  the  an 
guish  of  that  eoul  upon  which  Jesus  has  cast  a 
pitying  yet  reproachful  glance  ?  Don't  those  ears  still 
seem  to  ring  with  the  crowing  of  that  cock  which 
first  warned  him  of  his  terrific  sin  ?  those  lips  seem 
trying  to  utter  words  of  heartfelt  sorrow,  but  can 
not  for  the  choking  SO|)S «  Then  look  at  those  tears 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH.  47 

streaming  down  the  furrowed  cheeks;  those  eyes 
incessantly  filling,  raised  to  heaven  with  an  expres 
sion  of  intensest  love  for  his  Divine  Master,  and 
agonizing  contrition  for  having  denied  Him.  Oh, 
Peter !  Peter  !  how  many  of  us  follow  you  in  your 
fall ;  how  few  in  your  repentance !  " 

Mr.  De  Courcy,  who  seemed  spellbound  by  the  elo 
quence  of  his  host,  now  turned  to  look  at  him.  His 
cap  was  in  his  hand,  his  white  hair  flowing  back, 
and  his  aged  eyes  filled  with  tears :  he  looked  almost 
as  fine  a  picture  as  the  blessed  Peter  himself.  A 
new  emotion  filled  the  heart  of  Mr.  De  Oourcy  ;  he 
could  not  account  for  it,  but  he  seemed  to  feel  him 
self  quite  insignificant,  and  would  fain  have  re 
mained  silent  and  unobserved.  Soon  Father  Es 
mond,  wiping  his  eyes,  cried  out :  "  Bless  my  soul ! 
that  picture  makes  me  forget  everything.  Sit 
down,  my  dear  sir,  sit  down  ;  you  will  pardon  the 
forgetfulness  of  an  old  man.  I  hope  Mrs.  De  Courcy 
and  the  little  people  are  well.  How  are  matters 
progressing  at  Glengoulah  ?  I  suppose  the  old  castle 
is  putting  on  its  grand  look,  as  of  old." 

"  Yes,  indeed ;  the  castle  and  the  demesne  of  Glen 
goulah  are  fit  for  any  nobleman  to  reside  in.  I 
wish  they  were  about  to  be  occupied  by  so:ne  jne 
worthy  of  such  a  princely  inheritance.  Indeed, 


48  THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH. 

Father  Esmond,  I  came  to  visit  you  to-day  for  the 
purpose  of  having  a  conversation  with  you  on  this 
very  subject.  I  am  anxious  to  know  if  you  have 
any  idea  who  this  Biggs  is ;  have  you  heard  anything 
of  him?" 

"  I  have  not  the  slightest  suspicion  who  he  is ;  nor, 
indeed,  do  I  much  care.  As  long  as  you  are  the 
agent  we  don't  care  who  the  landlord  is,  and  for  this 
reason  I  never  made  an  inquiry  on  the  subject ; 
but  there's  the  old  man's  selfishness  breaking  out 
again !  I'm  forgetting  how  very  unpleasant  it 
would  be  for  you  if  he  should  happen  to  be  a  dis 
agreeable  man.  I  wish  he  had  stayed  where  he  was 
born." 

"  Well,  Father  Esmond,  I  had  a  suspicion  from 
the  first  that  he  was  the  person  of  whom  I  heard  my 
cousin  William  speak  when  he  came  home  from 
Oxford.  I  thought  the  name  was  the  same,  but  not 
feeling  certain  I  wrote  my  cousin  on  the  subject, 
related  what  I  had  heard  of  the  character  of  our 
new  landlord,  and  begged  he  would  describe,  as  ac 
curately  as  possible,  his  old  class-mate  at  Oxford. 
He  had  started  for  Germany  before  my  letter 
reached  his  home,  but  they  forwarded  it  to  him,  and 
he  replied  from  Dresden.  It  only  reached  me  yes 
terday." 


THE    BYRNES   Oe    GLKNGOJLAH.  49 

Pulling  out  a  pocket-book,  Mr.  De  Courcy  took  a 
letter  from  it  which  he  handed  to  Father  Esmond. 
While  the  priest  was  occupied  reading  the  letter  his 
guest  again  stood  before  the  "  St.  Peter  ;"  and  as  lie 
went  afresh  over  every  lineament  the  words  of  the 
venerable  Father  seemed  to  burn  into  his  soul. 
Father  Esmond,  having  read  the  letter  twice  over 
with  the  greatest  care,  folded  it  and  returned  it  with 
a  sigh.  "  God  help  my  poor  people  if  the  person 
your  cousin  speaks  of  be  the  same  l^iggs  ;  and  I  fear 
it  is,  for  the  points  of  resemblance  are  very  strong. 
I  fear  there  are  sad  times  in  store  for  the  tenantry. 
Oh,  Mr.  De  Courcy,  my  dear  friend,  let  me  im 
plore  you  not  to  abandon  my  poor  people.  You  are 
their  only  earthly  salvation.  Should  you  resign  he 
would  easily  find  a  creature  of  his  own  to  appoint 
who  would  be  ready  for  any  mean  employment." 

"  God  forgive  me  !  I'd  rather  have  the  wickedest 
old  sinner  than  one  of  those  canting,  psalm-singing 
crew.  The  sinner  might  be  converted  ;  but  those 
creatures  are  so  full  of  self-glorification  that  they  have 
no  room  for  the  glory  of  God,  and  if  they  don't  begin 
they  certainly  end  with  hypocrisy." 

"  You  may  rest  assured,  Father  Esmond,  it  will  be 
the  last  resort  left  to  honor  when  I  resign  the  Glen- 
goulah  estate.  I  need  hardly  tell  you  that  it  is  not 


50  THE    BYRNES    OF    GLENGOULAH. 

for  its  pecuniary  profits  I  will  hold  it  under  such  a 
man.  I  don't  need  it,  happily ;  but  my  affections  have 
become  bound  up  with  the  tenantry.  I  am  not  a 
very  demonstrative  character,  and  I'm  sure  many  of 
the  poor  fellows  have  thought  me  exacting,  but  I  love 
them  as  though  they  were  my  own  children.  I  have 
ever  found  them  punctual  and  upright  in  all  their 
dealings  with  me,  and  ready  to  adopt  any  suggestion  I 
made  for  the  improvement  of  their  farms  ;  indeed,  1 
think  they  took  an  especial  pride  in  following  my  ad 
vice,  just  to  show  their  confidence  in  me;  for  some  of 
them,  I  know,  could  not  see  the  drift  of  my  arrange 
ments  in  the  beginning,  though  they  saw  the  benefit 
of  them  afterwards.  It  will  be  one  of  the  most  pain 
ful  epochs  of  my  life  if  I  am  ever  compelled  to  resign 
the  management  of  this  estate,  and  I  hope  fervently 
I  may  be  spared  it." 

Poor  Father  Esmond  was  quite  overcome  by  these 
observations,  and,  making  a  great  effort  to  control 
his  feelings,  he  said  :  "  My  dear  friend,  there  is  not  a 
man,  woman,  or  child  in  Glengoulah  but  would  die 
for  you.  You  must  not  leave  us.  God  is  stronger 
than  the  enemy ;  we  will  all  importune  Heaven,  and 


"  Oh,  Father  Esmond,  no  ;  please  do  not  let  the  ten 
antry  know  1  heard  anything  of  the  landlord  —  it 


THE    BViiNES    OF    GLENGOULAH.  51 

would  be  extremely  imprudent.  In  the  first  place, 
we  have  only  a  suspicion-a  very  strong  one,  it  ia 
true,  but  still  a  mere  suspicion— that  he  and  this  Ox 
ford  man  are  the  same  person  ;  and  then,  if  the  peo 
ple  through  my  means  become  prejudiced  against  him 
it  would  be  sure  to  reach  his  ears,  and  we  might  look 
out  for  separation  truly ;  and,  moreover,  we  would  de 
serve  it  too.  No,  no ;  I  brought  this  letter  to  put  you 
on  your  guard,  as  you  might  see  some  way  of  foiling 
him  if  he  should  contemplate  a  crusade  against  the 
religion  of  the  people.  This  is  in  strict  confidence." 

"  Pardon  me,  my  dear  Mr.  De  Courcy  ;  I  was 
quite  taken  off  my  guard  by  the  bare  idea  of  losing 
you.  Of  course  you  are  perfectly  right ;  I  see  the  im 
propriety  of  letting  any  one  know.  You  may  rest 
easy  :  the  contents  of  that  letter  shall  never  pass  my 
lips  until  you  release  me  yourself  from  silence." 

"  Enough,  Father ;  I  must  go  now.  It  is  getting 
late." 

"  Upon  my  word,  you  sha'n't  leave  me  until  you 
take  pot  luck  with  me ;  my  dinner  will  be  ready  an 
hour  from  this,  and  Father  O'Tool  will  be  home  and 
will  amuse  you  with  his  droll  stories.  He's  the  life 
and  soul  of  Tinmanosrue." 

o 

"  I  am  very  much  obliged,  Father  Esmond  ;  but  it 
is  quite  impossible  I  could  accept  of  your  kind  invi- 


52  THE   BYKXES   OF   GLENGOULAH. 

tation  to-day.  There  are  two  gentlemen  to  dine  with 
me — tourists ;  who  came  to  see  the  vale  of  Ovoca.  I 
met  them  this  morning  accidentally,  and  they  prom 
ised  to  be  at  my  house  at  six  o'clock." 

"  Well !  well !  I  am  very  sorry  for  my  sake ;  but  the 
duties  of  hospitality  can't  be  postponed,  so  I  give  you 
up  for  this  day — but  you  mustn't  take  the  curse  of 
the  house  with  you. 

"  Mrs.  Malone,  will  you  be  kind  enough  to  bring 
the  decanters  here ;  and  where's  that  cake  I  heard 
you  boasting  about  ?  I  think  you  said  it  went  very 
nicely  with  raspberry  jam  !  We'll  put  it  to  the  test 
ma'am,  if  you  please." 

Mrs.  Malone,  who  had  been  expecting  some  such 
summons,  came  in  arrayed  in  a  black-satin  gown 
which  had  seen  better  days,  and  a  cap  decorated 
with  blue  gauze  ribbons.  She  bore  a  tray,  with  a 
goodly  array  of  wine-glasses,  decanters,  cake,  and  pre 
serves,  with  her  best  china  plates,  and  came  near 
demolishing  a  glass  in  her  efforts  to  place  the  tray 
on  the  table  and  make  a  most  gracious  courtesy  at 
the  same  time  for  Mr.  De  Courcy's  especial  benefit. 
With  the  kindness  of  a  true  gentleman  he  saluted 
the  good  woman,  told  her  he  had  heard  of  her  high 
reputation  in  the  manufacture  of  cakes  and  pre 
serves,  and  was  resolved  to  show  how  much  he  ap- 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH.  53 

predated  such  useful  acquirements.  Mrs.  Malono 
assured  his  honor  it  was  only  his  kindness  to  say  so, 
not  but  she  could  make  cakes  if  she  only  had  the 
least  idea  that  they  would  be  tasted  by  so  capable  a 
judge,  but  that  one  now  on  the  tray  was  only  a  poor 
specimen  of  her  art,  etc.,  etc.  It  was  easy  to  see, 
however,  that  she  was  mightily  pleased,  and  mak 
ing  two  more  dignified  courtesies — one  at  the  table, 
and  one  at  the  door — she  made  her  exit,  ever  after 
wards  declaring  that  "  Mr.  De  Courcy  was  the  nicest 
and  most  knowledgeable  gentleman  that  ever  came 
to  Tinmanogue." 

To  say  truth,  the  refreshments  were  all  the  best ; 
and  the  agent,  having  partaken  of  them,  requested 
Father  Esmond  to  try  and  get  over  to  his  house 
soon.  Mrs.  De  Courcy  would  be  quite  delighted  to 
see  him,  and  he  wanted  to  show  him  some  new  ma 
chinery  he  had  got  in  the  mill. 
"  Ah,  my  dear  friend !  it  is  little  visiting  I  can  do 
now.  I  suffer  much  at  times  from  asthma,  but 
praises  be  to  God !  I  have  had  a  long  life  of  good 
health,  and  must  expect  some  shadow  of  the  coming 
event  which  can't  be  far  distant  now." 

"  Oh,  you  mustn't  say  that,  Father ;  I  trust  it  is 
many,  many  years  distant." 

"Well!  well!    God's  holy  will  be  done  as  He 


54  THE   BYRNES    OF   GLEXGOULAH. 

pleases,  my  son.  I  would  like  very  much  indeed  to 
go  and  see  your  family ;  if  possible  I  will  do  so." 

Mr.  De  Courcy  leaned  over  and  in  an  undertone 
whispered,  "  Meantime,  Father,  please  remember  me 
in  your  petitions  to  Heaven,  and  when  you  are 
viewing  your  St.  Peter." 

"  Indeed,  then,  I  will,  my  dear  friend  and  child. 
God  bless  you  !  " 

Mr.  De  Courcy  vaulted  into  his  saddle,  and,  rais 
ing  his  hat  once  more  to  the  venerable  figure  stand 
ing  on  the  door-step,  galloped  up  the  hill  and  was 
out  of  sight  in  a  minute. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  long-expected  time  came  at  length  when 
there  arrived  at  Glengoulah  Castle  troops  of  servants 
and  piles  of  luggage  from  England  ;  and,  about  a 
week  afterwards,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Wilson  Biggs, 
his  lady  the  Rev.  Mrs.  Samuel  Biggs,  his  two  maid 
en  sisters  the  Misses  Biggs,  a  valet,  and  two  waiting 
maids,  drove  up  in  two  carriages  and  four  to  the 
grand  sweep  before  the  castle  hall;  whereupon 
there  was  great  commotion  amongst  the  hired  retain 
ers,  and  a  great  clattering  of  dishes  in  the  culinary 
apartments,  accompanied  by  an  odor  bearing  sure 
evidence  that  Ihe  comforts  of  the  inward  man  were 
being  attended  to. 

A  few  days  after  the  arrival  of  the  family  the  two 
waiting  women  took  counsel  together,  during  break 
fast  hour,  in  the  dressing-room  of  the  Rev.  mis 
tress. 

"  La  me !  "  said  Miss  Jemima  Jenkins  (the  Rev. 
mistress's  own  maid)  to  Miss  Amelia  Hopkins,  who 
had  the  felicity  to  wait  on  the  spinster  sisters  of  their 
Rev.  master — "  La  me !  I  verily  believe  we  shall 


56          THE  BYRNES  OTT  GLKNGOULAH. 

mope  to  death  in  this  hold  castle,  perched  hon  the 
top  of  the  'ill;  just  look  out  of  this  winder,  and  see 
what  a  frightful  'iglit  we  are."  And  the  two  young 
ladies  gazed  into  the  valley  below,  just  at  the  point 
"  where  the  bright  waters  meet."  Then  they  cast 
their  eyes  on  the  opposite  hills,  covered  with  verd 
ure,  though  it  was  the  first  week  of  December,  and 
on  the  thousand  waterfalls  and  silver  streams — one 
of  the  most  picturesquely  beautiful  scenes  the  eye  of 
man  could  wish  to  repose  on  in  this  world.  Draw 
ing  in  her  head,  Miss  Jemima  Jenkins  exclaimed, 
with  a  sigh :  "  I  shall  ask  mistress  to  raise  my  wages. 
It  is  evident  there  is  no  chance  of  society  in  such 
a  wild  place !  I  should  die,  I  know  I  should,  in  one 
quarter." 

"  Yes,"  rejoined  Miss  Amelia  Hopkins ;  "  and  only 
think  !  the  coachman,  footman,  and  two  grooms  are 
all  married  men  ;  it  is  perfectly  unbearable  !  I  too 
shall  demand  'igher  wages,  or  I  sha'n't  wait  on  Miss 
Biggs,  nor  Miss  Rachel  neither,  so  I  sha'n't." 

"  And  I  heard  mistress  tell  master  this  morning," 
said  Miss  Jemima  Jenkins,  "  that  she  didn't  see  how 
she  was  ever  a  goin'  to  live  among  such  barbarous 
people.  But  la  !  master  is  so  religious  !  he  told  her 
she  must  look  upon  it  as  a  trial  sent  her  by  the  Lord, 
and  try  to  bear  it  with  Christian  fortitude.  He  said  : 


THE   BYKNES   OF   GLENGOULAH.  57 

Mistress,  and  Miss  Biggs,  and  Miss  Bachel,  and  you, 
and  me,  and  all  the  servants,  should  try  and  reform 
the  people  on  the  estate.  '  I  am  sui  e,  sir,'  says  I, '  if 
I  had  come  hair  to  such  a  rich  hestate  I  should  pre 
fer  to  pay  hagents  to  manage  it  for  me,  and  live  in  a 
civilized  country  myself;'  but  I  do  believe  if  there's 
a  saint  on  hearth  master's  one.  He  turned  up  the 
wites  of  his  heyes,  and  says  he,  in  a  solemn  voice, 
'  What  you  say,  my  dear  Jenkins,  would  be  quite 
acceptable  to  a  worldly-minded  man,  but  my  bowels 
yearn  with  compassion  for  those  creatures  who 
are  half  savages  by  nature,  and  whose  steps  run 
after  iniquity ;  it  will  be  my  care  to  regenerate  them 
in  a  new  baptism,  so  to  speak,  and  bring  their  feet 
into  the  path  of  the  Lord.'  Oh,  'Opkins,  you  never 
'card  such  sighs  as  he  drew  up  from  the  very  bottom 
I  of  his  stomach  ;  it  gave  me  the  'art  burn  to  'ear  'em." 
"  "Well !  I  don't  care  if  he  is  so  religious,  I  haint — 
and  so  I  just  intend  to  do  as  little  work  as  ever  I 
can ;  and  I'm  a  goin'  to  see  if  I  can't  make  some 
hirapression  on  the  'art  of  Mr.  Jones,  the  'ed  butler. 
I've  singled  him  out  as  my  game,  so  see  you  don't 
look  at  him !"  shaking  her  finger  playfully  at  her 
companion.  "La  me!"  cried  Miss  Jemima,  with  a 
contemptuous  toss  of  her  head,  which  made  all  the 
pink  ribbons  in  her  fancy  cap  flutter  for  five  seconds,  " 


58  THE    BYENES    OF    GLENGOULAH. 

"  I  think  mistress's  own  maid  may  look  'igher.  I 
haint  got  such  low  tastes,  I  can  assure  you,  'Opkins; 
and  if  I  do  amuse  myself  a  talkin'  to  Mr.  Thompson, 
master's  valet,  it  is  only  till  I  can  find  society 
capable  of  appreciating  me." 

"  Well  done,  my  lady  Pimlico,"  cried  Miss  Ame 
lia,  mimicking  the  voice  of  her  friend  Jenkins, — 

O  7 

"  Well,  I  never !  So  we're  puttin'  on  hairs,  are  we  ? 
He,  he,  he.  My  heyes !  wont  I  have  ftiu  in  the  ser 
vants'  'all  to-night.  I  suppose  we'll  begin  to  get 
religion  too,  like  master,  and  turn  up  the  wites  of 
our  heyes  and  sing  psalms "  —  and  the  tantalizing 
young  lady  began  to  sing  in  a  nasal  tone : 

"  Oh !  there's  a  'appy  land,  far,  far  away." 
Suddenly  the  bell  of  Miss  Biggs's  dressing-room 
rang  furiously,  and  at  the  same  moment  the  sickly 
step  of  the  Rev.  mistress  was  heard  ascending  the 
stairs,  which  caused  the  instantaneous  cessation  of 
the  hymn,  and  the  sudden  transition  of  Miss  Ame 
lia  Hopkins  from  the  front  to  the  rear  of  the  castle, 
while  the  offended  person  of  Miss  Jemima  Jenkins 
quickly  passed  from  an  easy,  dignified  position  in  an 
arm-chair  before  the  looking-glass,  to  one  of  most 
bustling  activity,  with  something  in  her  fair  hand 
which  bore  a  suspicious  resemblance  to  a  dusting- 
brush.  For  the  present  we  shall  leave  the  afflicted 


THE   BYRNES    OF   GLENGOULAH.  59 

inmates  of  Glengoulab  Castle  to  the  terrible  calami 
ties  consequent  upon  a  residence  amongst  a  barbar 
ous  people,  and  see  what  the  savage  tenantry  are 
about. 

Toney  Byrne  took  his  lease  to  Mr.  De  Courcy's 
office,  at  the  mills,  as  directed,  and  was  told  to  leave 
it  there,  for  the  Rev.  landlord  had  not  yet  attended 
to  any  business ;  but  Mr.  De  Courcy  would  be  sure 

to  call  his  earliest  attention  to  it,  and  to  some  others 
^x 

which  also  required  renewal. 

Some  weeks  had  elapsed,  Christmas  had  come  and 
gone,  the  new  year  had  dawned,  but  Toney  re 
ceived  no  summons  to  visit  the  office  in  order  to  sign 
his  new  lease.  At  length,  in  the  second  week  of 
January,  at  the  oft-repeated  request  of  his  wife,  To 
ney  went  to  the  office  once  more.  He  was  received 
as  kindly  as  ever  by  Mr.  De  Courcy,  who  told  him 
he  regretted  very  much  that  his  lease  was  still  un 
signed  by  the  landlord.  "  I  have  urged  him  fre 
quently,  Byrne,  and  he  kept  putting  me  off  upon 
one  pretext  or  another  until  last  week,  when  he  pos 
itively  refused  to  sign  any  lease  until  he  made  him 
self  acquainted  with  the  character  and  condition  of 
the  tenantry.  However,,  it  wont  be  long  now  until 
the  March  gales  come,  and  perhaps  he  may  give  or 
ders  to  have  the  leases  ready  by  rent  day.  Meantime 


60  THE    BYRNES    OF   GLENGOULAH. 

I  am  quite  willing  to  have  the  character  of  each  ten 
ant  and  the  condition  of  each  holding  scrutinized, 
for  I  am  proud  of  the  whole." 

"  Yes,  sir,  thanks  be  to  God,  your  honor  needn't 
be  afraid  or  ashamed  of  any  of  us." 

"  Mr.  Biggs  is  going  to  have  a  new  church  built  on 
the  demesne,  and  a  school-house,  he  tells  me,  so  that 
will  give  a  good  deal  of  employment." 

"  Ah,  what  in  the  world  does  he  want  with  anoth 
er  church,  sir?  Sure  the  parish  church  of  Tinman- 
ogue  has  only  a  congregation  of  seven  persons,  and 
where  will  he  find  scholars  for  his  schools  ?" 

"  Why,  you  forget,  Byrne,  that  his  own  establish 
ment  at  the  castle  would  make  a  numerous  congre 
gation  ;  and,  as  they  are  all  English,  I  presume  they 
are  Protestants  likewise.  Perhaps,  too,  many  of 
them  are  married,  and  have  young  families  ;  and  if 
so,  the  ladies  will  require  some  useful  occupation,  and 
so  may  turn  teachers.  And,  perhaps" — Mr.  De 
Courcy  smiled  quietly — "some  of  the  tenantry  may 
be  glad  to  avail  themselves  of  so  good  an  opportuni 
ty  to  educate  their  children,  and  send  them  to  this 
school  too." 

"  Oh  no,  bedad,  sir !  Sorra  a  fear  of  that.  If 
the  good  gentleman  is  goin'  to  build  churches,  or 
schools  aither,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Glengoulah  peo- 


THE    BYKNES    OF   GLENGOULAH.  61 

pie,  he  had  better  keep  his  money.  A  good  mornin' 
Mr.  DeCourcy!" 

"  Good  morning,  Byrne." 

As  Toney  was  approaching  his  home  he  met 
Tom  Moody,  whom  he  invited  in  to  "  take  the  weight 
off  his  limbs,  and  have  a  draw  of  the  pipe."  He 
told  Mrs.  Byrne  "  a  power  of  news  "  about  the  Biggs 
family,  and  their  doings  at  the  castle.  Indeed, 
Kitty  had  been  dying  to  see  the  same  Tom,  and  had 
come  out  upon  the  road  a  dozen  times  when  she 
espied  a  hat  like  his  coming  down  the  road.  With 
a  long  stocking  tucked  under  her  arm,  at  the  toe  of 
which  she  was  busy  with  her  needles,  Mrs.  Byrne 
would  come  out  and  look  down  the  road  in  the  op 
posite  direction  from  where  the  owner  of  the  hat 
was  coming,  as  if  expecting  somebody.  After  gazing 
a  while  she  would  turn  round  carelessly,  intending, 
if  it  should  be  Tom,  to  say,  "  Why,  then,  now,  is  that 
yourself,  Tom  Moody  ?  Who'd  ever  think  to  see 
you  here  the  mornin'?  Come  in  and  rest  a  while." 
And  so  she  would  be  sure  to  hear  all  the  news,  for 
Tom  was  an  incorrigible  gossip,  and  had  a  knack 
of  worming  himself  in  with  strangers,  and  by  find 
ing  out  a  little  here,  and  a  little  there,  and  "  putting 
that  and  that  together,"  as  he  said  himself,  it  was 
quite  wonderful  what  shrewd  guesses  he  made. 


62  THE    BYRNES    OF    GLENGOULAH. 

Poor  Mrs.  Byrne,  however,  had  come  out  so  often, 
and  looked  down  the  road  so  intently,  and  turned 
round  so  innocently  (expecting  to  accost  Tom)  every 
time  encountering  the  eyes  of  a  stranger,  that  she 
almost  despaired  of  ever  seeing  Tom  Moody  again. 
She  had  kept  her  own  counsel,  however,  and  never 
mentioned  her  movements  to  any  one,  for  she  knew 
how  much  Toney  discountenanced  gossiping.  As 
Tom  now  made  his  appearance  with  her  husband 
she  accosted  him  kindly,  but  with  the  most  diplo 
matic  nonchalance,  inquired  after  all  the  neighbors 
in  his  parts  (Tom  was  a  bachelor),  and  glancing 
carelessly  at  his  hat,  which  he  held  between  his 
knees,  she  requested  to  be  allowed  to  put  it  on  the 
table.  As  she  laid  it  down  she  took  a  second  look 
at  it,  and  said,  "  Why,  then,  Tom  Moody,  did  you 
pass  down  this  road  three  or  four  times  this  week?  " 

"  No,  indeed,  ma'am  ;  if  I  did  you  may  be  sure  I'd 
step  in  to  bid  you  the  time  of  day." 

"  'Deed,  that's  what  made  me  wonder ;  and  yet  I 
certainly  seen  a  hat  like  this  one  goin'  down  the 
road,  whoever  wore  it." 

"  You  did,  Mrs.  Byrne }  are  you  sure  of  that, 
ma'am  ? " 

"  'Deed,  I  never  was  surer  of  anything ;  when  1 
seen  your  hat  now  it  brought  it  to  my  mind." 


THE    BYRNES   OF    GLENGOULAH.  63 

"  Ahem  !  I  see  now  how  the  cat  jumps ;  what 
kind  of  a  lookin'  man  was  he,  Mrs.  Byrne  ?  " 

Kitty,  unwilling  to  confess  she  was  outside  of  her 
own  premises,  said,  evasively,  "  I  just  seen  the  hat 
over  the  hedge,  and  not  bein'  a  common,  one  it  took 
my  eye." 

"  "Well,  ma'am,  that  must  be  no  other  man  but 
Sandy  McGlauren,  the  Scotch  steward  ;  he  has  a  hat 
for  all  the  world  the  comrade  of  mine ;  but  he's  a 
gradle  taller  nor  I  am,  and  has  great  big  bones. 
Well,  ma'am,  if  there's  a  head  goin',  divil  alive  it's 
the  same  Sandy ;  he's  as  deep  as  a  draw-well.  And 
so  he  was  up  through  the  farms !  Bedad,  I  don't  like' 
the  look  of  that,  Mr.  Byrne,"  turning  to  Toney.  "  I 
don't  like  to  see  such  cattle  rovin'  through  the  hills, 
so  I  don't.  1  wouldn't  say  now  but  he  was  calcnlat- 
in'  the  value  of  every  farm,  and  that  a  rise  in  the 
rent  would  be  soon  recommended." 

"  Tut,  tut,  man  ! "  exclaimed  Toney,  who  was 
always  disposed  to  see  the  bright  and  peaceful  side 
of  everything — "  Tut,  tut !  Don't  yon  know  he's  a 
stranger,  and  it's  only  natural  he'd  like  to  see  the 
country  he  has  come  to  live  in,  and  to  examine  the 
quality  of  the  land  too,  and  see  if  it's  like  his  own  ? 
I  don't  see  anything  in  that  but  what  we'd  do  our 
selves,  if  we  were  in  his  place/' 


64:  THE   BYRNES    OF   GLENGOULAH. 

"  Well,  wait  till  you  see,  Mr.  Byrne.  I  just  can 
tell  what  them  lads  is  thinkin'  of.  There's  not  a 
wink  on  me  !  "  at  the  same  time  winking  very  hard 
with  both  eyes,  to  show  his  great  cleverness. 

"  'Deed,  honest  man,  it's  you  I  belave,"  chimed 
in  the  good  woman ;  "  but  sure  this  man  of  mine 
won't  give  ear  to  anything  lie  hears.  I  do  be  as 
mad  as  a  March  hare  with  him  sometimes.  The 
childer  can  put  their  finger  in  his  eye  and  he  can't 
see  it." 

"Well,  now,  Kitty,  where's  the  use  of  judging 
any  one  till  you  know  they're  guilty — it  isn't  fair — 
and  we  wouldn't  like  it  to  be  done  to  ourselves.  I 
like  to  judge  every  one  fair  and  square  until  I  find 
them  goin'  wrong." 

"  Why,  then,  indade,  Mr.  Byrne,  it's  little  you'll 
see  that's  fair  or  square  from  the  same  Sandy,  or  his 
master aither,  if  I'm  a  livin'  man;  but  time  'ill  tell 
— God  keep  us  all  from  harm." 

"  Oh !  amen,  Tom,  honey  !  "  said  poor  Mrs.  Byrne, 
fervently ;  and  then  she  began  to  question  him  on 
all  he  knew  of  the  Biggs  family. 

"  And  what  kind  of  a  lookin'  man  is  the  minis 
ter?" 

"  A  mighty  mane  lookin'  little  man,  Mrs.  Byrne, 
as  ever  you  seen.  How  old  is  your  Andy  now  ?" 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH.  65 

"  He's  just  risin'  fourteen." 

"  Well,  the  sorra  taste  bigger  nor  Andy  lie  is 
— God  bless  the  boy  ;  but  he's  most  as  black  as  your 
shoe — no,  not  so  black  as  that ;  but  I'll  tell  you  now 
for  all  the  world  what  he  looks  like,  and  sorra  word 
of  lie  I'm  tellin' — he  looks  like  a  chimley  sweep  that 
was  after  givin'  his  face  a  kind  of  wash,  what  we  call 
4  a  lick  and  a  promise,' — now  that's  the  very  color 
of  his  skin  ;  and  he  has  the  schaminist  eye  you  ever 
looked  at,  and  wid  all  a  mighty  down  mane  look." 

"  Oh,  then  the  curse  of  the  crows  on  him  !  Where 
was  he  comiu'  at  all  at  all  among  dacent  people  ? 
Did  you.  ever  see  the  mistress  at  all  ? " 

"  See  her  ?  'Deed,  I'll  engage  I  did ;  and  more 
than  onst,  too." 

"  Is  she  pretty  itself?  " 

"  Pretty  ?  Musha,  Mrs.  Byrne,  where  would  such 
a  speciment  of  a  man  get  a  pretty  woman — eh,  now?  " 

"  Why  the  dickens  go  from  her,  sure?  We  heard 
she  was  a  lord's  daughter." 

"  So  she  is,  ma'am  ;  a  speretual  lord's  ;  that  is,  a 
Protestant  Bishop." 

"  Oh,  persume  to  her ! "  said  Mrs.  Byrne,  con 
temptuously  ;  "  if  that  be  all,  sure  of  course  we 
couldn't  expect  much  dacency  from  her.  She's  black 
lookin'  too,  I'll  be  bound  ?  " 


66  THE   BYENES   OF   GLENGOULAH. 

"  £To ;  but  she's  the  livin'  picture  of  a  yalla  mnllott 
(mulatto)  ;  I  mane  in  the  color  of  her  skin.  I  seen  a 
yalla  mullott  last  summer  when  I  was  up  in  Dublin 
• — I  went  on  an  errand  from  the  master  to  the  coun 
sellor.  Well,  there  was  an  American  ship  lyin'  in  the 
docks,  and  I  should  go  on  boord  of  her  wid  the  rest 
of  the  crowd  to  be  sure,  and  there  I  seen  the  mul 
lott.  She  was  the  steward's  wife,  I  belave,  and  at 
tended  the  ladies'  cabin.  Her  skin  looked  like  a  bar 
of  yalla  soap  that  had  the  measles,  but  for  all  she 
was  a  fine  soncy  lookin'  woman,  and  had  the  dar- 
lintist  pair  of  eyes  you  could  wish  to  see.  Well,  the 
minister's  lady  has  such  another  skin ;  but,  be  my 
sowkins,  she  can't  hould  a  candle  to  the  mullott  in 
any  other  respect." 

"  Is  she  a  big  woman  ? " 

"  Her  height  is  fair  enough,  but  the  divil  such  a 
quare  made  woman  ever  I  seen  ;  she's  the  very  figure 
of  a  broomstick,  and  hasn't  a  bit  on  her  bones.  She 
has  quare  dead-lookin'  hair,  and  not  as  much  of  it 
on  her  whole  head  as  Miss  Winny  there  —  God 
bless  the  colleen  —  has  in  one  of  them  locks  that, 
hangs  over  her  laughin'  eye.  Her  nose,  chin  and 
elbows  is  like  raziers;  and  as  for  her  jaw  bone, 
it's  so  sharp  that  I'm  sure  if  Samson  had  it  he'd 
kill  more  Philistines  wid  it  than  he  kilt  wid  the 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOtJLAH.  67 

jaw  bone  of  the   ass  that's  wrote  about  in  the 
Scriptures." 

"  Well,  bad  cess  to  you !  out  of  my  sight,  Tom 
Moody,  that  I  mightn't  sin,  but  my  heart's  broke 
laughin'  at  you  ;  but  you're  the  fine  lad,  so  you  are." 

"  Upon  my  sowl  I'm  not  tellin'  you  a  word  of  lie, 
ma'am.  Wait  till  you  see  her  ;  they  say  she's  half 
the  time  dyin',  and  must  have  all  kinds  of  attention 
from  mornin'  till  night.  She  has  a  great  high-flyer 
of  a  watin'  maid  leapin'  round  her  all  the  time  wid 
smellin'-bottles  and  head-dresses.  His  two  sisters  is 
the  very  mott  of  himself — small,  black,  and  mane 
lookin' — but  they're  all  dressed  so  grand,  my  dear, 
and  has  such  airs  about  them,  and  spake  so  fine 
you'd  take  them  to  be  rale  quality  if  you  didn't 
know  who  they  wor."  For  all  she  laughed  so  heart 
ily  at  Tom's  description  of  the  minister's  family, 
poor  Mrs.  Byrne  felt  her  heart  sink  at  the  prospect 
of  having  the  future  destiny  of  the  Ityrnes  entrusted 
to  such  keeping.  Day  or  night  she  could  not  rest, 
her  duties  became  irksome,  and  she  would  sit  for 
hours  brooding  over  coming  shadows,  although  her 
fingers  were  busy  at  the  knitting.  Soon  she  be 
came  fretful  and  impatient,  and  would  fly  off  to  Mrs. 
Fehily  or  some  other  neighbor  to  hold  converse  and 
try  to  dive  into  the  future  intentions  of  the  landlord. 


68  THE    BYRNES    OF    GLEXGOIJLAH. 

But  day  after  day  passed,  and  Mrs.  Byrne  gre\v 
more  restless.  At  length  she  thought  of  a  plan — it 
was  to  vrsit  Father  Esmond  at  Tinmanogue,  and 
have  his  reverence's  opinion  on  the  state  of  the  case. 
Having  once  conceived  the  project  she  gave  Toney 
no  peace  until  he  consented  to  go. 

"  Now's  the  time,  Toney,  before  the  spring  work 
comes  on,  for  we'll  be  all  too  busy  then,  and  can't 
spare  any  of  the  bastes.  Father  Esmond  is  a  long 
headed  man  and  has  great  exparience — and  more 
be  token  he's  a  livin'  saint  and  his  advice  is  good. 
And  it  will  aise  our  minds  if  it  won't  .do  anything 
else,  so  let  us  saddle  Puss  in  the  name  of  God,  and 
put  on  the  pillion  and  be  off  in  the  mornin'  early, 
and  then  we'll  have  plenty  of  time  to  see  his  rever 
ence,  and  be  home  early  after  with  the  help  of  God." 

"  Well,  Kitty,  I'm  very  loath  to  trouble  his  rev 
erence  With  our  affairs,  since  he  has  the  whole  busi 
ness  of  the  parish  to  attend  to  ;  but  indade  I'll  over 
come  my  dislike  if  it  '11  only  aise  your  mind,  for  I 
never  seen  you  so  unaisy  about  anything.  You're 
like  a  hen  on  a  hot  griddle,  so  you  are ;  and  indade 
it's  glad  I  am  you  thought  of  somethin'  to  give  you 
relief;  so  let  us  be  off  as  you  say  to-morrow  mornin' 
in  God's  name." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

*'  Two  travellers  might  be  seen  wending  their  way  " 
down  the  Cascade  hill  one  cold  morning  at  the  be 
ginning  of  February.  The  wind  swept  moaning 
through  the  ravines,  and  made  a  hollow  murmuring 
through  the  leafless  branches ;  and  between  each 
gust  a  heavy  drizzling  rain  was  trying  to  fall,  but 
was  caught  up  by  a  stiff  nor'easter  before  it  reached 
the  earth,  and  blown  about  in  every  direction. 

The  travellers,  one  of  whom  was  a  woman,  were 
on  horseback — the  woman  seated  on  a  pillion  behind 
her  husband — both  well  clad,  and  with  shawls  tied 
over  their  hats.  The  horse,  a  sober  philosophical  sort 
of  animal,  jogged  on  perfectly  unmindful  of  wind  or 
rain.  He  held  the  bit  in  his  mouth,  and,  with  hanging 
lip,  and  eyes  fixed  on  the  road  before  him,  seemed  to 
look  with  scornful  defiance  on  the  little  gusts  which 
jumped  out  at  every  winding  of  the  road  from  be 
hind  rocks  and  stumps  of  trees,  and  battering  his 
ears  and  nose,  sent  his  mane  flying  into  an  erect  po 
sition,  then  retired  to  their  hiding-places,  and  running 
along  the  hillsides  were  ready  for  him  again  at  the 


70  THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH. 

next  turning.  Our  four-footed  friend,  however,  had 
evidently  made  up  his  mind  not  to  be  daunted  by 
such  insignificant  obstacles  as  the  weather  could 
present,  being  perfectly  conversant  with  all  its  pow 
ers  ;  and  he  accordingly  jogged  on  in  the  same  sing 
song  trot  whach  he  had  commenced  on  leaving  home 
in  the  morning,  and  never  varied  his  pace  until 
pulled  up  by  his  rider  at  the  residence  of  the  parish 
priest  cf  Tinmanogue. 

The  cottage  was  no  longer  hidden  amongst  the 
trees ;  for  the  foliage  had  departed,  and  the  bare 
vines  hung  dangling  from  the  housetop,  sometimes 
rapping  on  the  panes  as  the  wind  blew  them  hither 
and  thither,  like  vines  in  distressed  circumstances 
which  were  begging  for  admission  from  the  winter's 
storm.  The  scene,  however,  was  not  so  much 
changed  as  one  would  suppose  from  the  season  ;  the 
evergreens  in  front  of  the  house  still  proudly  bore 
their  green  banners,  the  mountain  ash  hung  out 
myriads  of  scarlet  berries,  and  the  ever- verdant  grass 
looked  soft  as  velvet  still,  though  the  mountain 
breezes  chased  the  lights  and  shadows  in  quick  suc 
cession  over  its  surface.  The  only  effect  winter 
could  produce  was  to  cause  the  daisies  and  butter 
cups  to  hide  their  heads  in  slumber,  awaiting  the 
breath  of  spring  to  reanimate  them. 


THE   BYRNES    OF    GLENGOULAU.  71 

Toney  Byrne,  alighting  from  his  horse,  assisted 
his  wife  to  dismount.  Fastening  the  bridle  to  one 
of  the  trees  by  the  roadside,  they  entered  the  priest's 
garden,  knocked  at  the  hall-door,  and,  upon  inquir 
ing  for  Father  Esmond,  were  shown  into  the  back 
parlor,  which  he  seldom  left  now,  as  it  was  a  warm 
room,  and  he  was  much  afflicted  with  asthma.  The 
venerable  gentleman  sat  at  a  round  table  near  the 
fire-place,  attired  as  we  last  saw  him,  with  the  ad 
dition  of  a  cloak  thrown  over  his  shoulders.  The 
old  pleasant  smile  was  there,  indicating  kindness  and 
hospitality.  His  table  was  full  of  books  and  writ 
ing  materials,  and  in  the  centre  of  it  stood  a  neatty- 
carved  ivory  crucifix  on  a  pedestal  of  ebony,  and  at 
its  foot  lay  his  well-worn  breviary.  He  arose  on 
Toney's  entrance,  welcomed  him  and  his  wife  to 
Tinmanogue,  and  having  shaken  them  warmly  by  the 
hands,  made  them  sit  down  in  the  ample  chimney, 
where  an  immense  turf-fire  was  blazing.  Having 
ascertained  the  mode  by  which  they  travelled,  he  sent 
his  boy  to  put  the  horse  in  the  stable  and  feed  him. 

After  inquiring  for  their  family  and  the  neigh 
bors  round,  the  priest  asked  after  Margaret  and  her 
young  husband,  prophesying  the  future  prosperity 
of  so  worthy  and  virtuous  a  couple.  The  father  and 
mother  were  proud  of  the  encomiums  passed  on 


72  THE   BYRNES    OF   GLEXGOCLAH. 

"  their  little  girl,"  and  thanked  his  reverence  grate 
fully. 

*•  But  oh,  Father  Esmond,  asthore ! "  said  Mrs. 
Byrne,  "  the  heart  within  nie  is  sore  at  the  way 
things  is  goiu'  to  be,  I'm  afeared,  sir ;  and  that's 
what  brought  us  to  see  yonr  reverence  to-day.  I 
told  Toney  I  could  not  rest  till  I  seen  you  and  got 
some  consolation,  so  we  made  it  up  that  we'd  ride 
over  the  hills  in  spite  of  the  heavy  mist  and  the 
drivin'  wind ;  for  indade,  Father  honey,  the  wind 
is  drivin'  no  faster  than  the  black  thoughts  is  runnin' 
through  my  mind." 

"  Well,  to  spake  the  truth,  your  reverence,  I  don't 
like  how  things  looks  myself;  but  still  and  all,  I 
think  Kitty  takes  things  too  much  to  heart,  and  I'd 
be  glad  if  your  reverence  wonld  give  her  a  good 
Bcoldin';  she'll  sicken  herself,  so  she  will,  if  she 
goes  on  at  this  rate." 

"My  dear  friends,  have  patience.  Don't  you 
know  God  never  abandons  those  who  put  their 
trust  in  Him?  What  is  troubling  your  minds? 
Tell  me  how  yon  are  situated  regarding  your  lease  ?" 

"  Well,  sir,  you  see  the  Byrnes,  father  and  son,  for 
years  upon  years  held  a  lease  for  the  life  of  the 
landlord,  and  there  was  a  special  request  put  in  the 
body  of  it  that  the  next  landlord  would  continue 


THE  BYfiNES   OF   GLENGOCLAH.  73 

the  same,  by  raisin  of  their  beiu'  of  the  old  stock, 
and  havin'  given  paceable  possession  in  generations 
gone  of  Glengoulah  Castle  and  lands  to  the  ances 
tors  of  the  Plover  family.  But  now,  your  reverence, 
this  man  is  not  a  direct  heir,  but  is  come  of  a 
mighty  low  English  breed,  I  hear ;  and  as  we're  en 
tirely  at  his  mercy,  sure  it's  no  wonder  we'd  be  un- 
aisy,  though  I  do  be  tryin'  to  persuade  Kitty  that 
the  day  often  clears  up  and  the  sun  shines  out 
when  the  mornin'  looks  dark." 

"  Well,  Toney,  I  don't  see  as  yet  that  you  have 
any  cause  to  fear ;  it  is  surely  not  possible  that  Mr. 
Biggs  would  eject  one  of  the  best  tenants  on  his  es 
tate  without  cause,  and  he  has  no  fault  nor  cannot 
have  any  with  you,  I  am  sure.  I  know  myself,  from 
conversations  I  had  with  Mr.  De  Courcy,  that  he 
has  a  very  high  regard  for  you,  and  he  would  not 
be  a  party  to  any  injustice  ;  he  knows  the  Byrnes 
made  that  farm  what  it  is,  from  being  wild  moun 
tain  land  and  bog,  by  the  hard  labor  of  their  hands 
and  the  sweat  of  their  brows.  Oh,  no !  my  dear 
children  ;  rest  content,  and  you'll  find  Mr.  Biggs 
cannot  be  so  unfair.  Let  us  give  the  devil  his  due, 
and  maybe  after  all  he's  not  so  black  as  he's 
painted." 

"  Sorra  a  ha'porth   myself    knows    about   him, 


4  THE   BYBNES    OF    GLENGOULAH. 

Father  honey,  only  what  old  Harry  McLean  told  us. 
You  know  Harry  went  off  as  a  body  servant  to  Sir 
Charles  when  he  went  to  the  college  in  England, 
and  he  never  left  Sir  Charles  while  he  lived.  He 
came  back  a  few  weeks  ago  and  brought  a  power  of 
news  about  the  new  landlord.  I  heard  it  all  from 
Tom  Moody,  the  under  steward.  Harry  says  Mr. 
Biggs's  mother  was  a  bar-maid  in  an  inn  in  England. 
She  was  very  pretty,  and  Sir  Charles's  uncle  married 
her ;  he  was  the  uncle  by  the  mother's  side,  and  as 
none  of  the  Plover  family  married,  he  became  the 
heir.  He  says  these  Biggses  is  all  as  mane  as  dirt — 
savin'  your  reverence's  favor — and  that  they're  good 
for  nothing  but  psalm  singing ;  his  wife  is  the  daugh 
ter  of  some  Protestant  bishop  in  England,  and  they 
think  they're  demeanin'  themselves  mightily  to  come 
to  live  in  Ireland  at  all.  They  have  no  one  around 
them  but  English — barring  a  head  steward,  a  Scotch 
man — and  sure,  your  reverence,  it's  well  I  know  if 
he's  let  to  have  his  say  in  anything  it's  short  Mr. 
De  Courcy  'ill  hold  the  agency,  and  the  likes  of  him 
interfarin'  between  himself  and  the  tenants." 

"  Mrs.  Byrne,  my  dear  child  !  don't  be  too  ready 
to  believe  all  you  hear.  How  can  you  vouch  for 
the  truth  of  what  this  Harry  McLean  says ;  he  may 
have  some  dislike  to  Mr.  Biggs's  family.  But  now, 


THE   BYRNES    OF   GLENGOULAH.  75 

suppose  it  all  true,  those  things  cannot  affect  you. 
Let  him  manage  his  household  as  he  likes,  that  is 
nothing  to  the  tenantry.  As  to  the  Scotchman,  it's 
most  probable  he  is  merely  a  head  gardener  to  look 
after  the  demesne.  You  may  be  sure  he  won't  have 
charge  of  the  estate,  so  don't  trouble  yourself  about 
it.  If  you  take  my  advice — and  I  know  you  will — 
go  on  industriously  as  you  have  always  done,  mind 
no  one's  stories,  and  above  all  don't  repeat  them  to 
your  neighbors.  Keep  your  children  to  their  lessons 
and  their  duties,  and  never  fear.  God  is  good,  my 
dear  friends,  and  we  must  never  forget  all  He  has 
done  for  us." 

u  Och  !  then,  sure  its  true  what  your  reverence 
says ;  glory,  honor,  and  praise  be  to  His  holy  name 
we  have  a  great  deal  to  be  thankful  for,  sure  enough. 
And  does  your  reverence  really  think  there's  no  fear 
of  us  bein'  put  out  ?" 

"  Well,  my  child,  I  really  see  no  earthly  reason 
why  you  should  be  ejected ;  you  always  paid  your 
rent  punctually,  and  such  tenants  as  you  are  a  trea 
sure  to  any  landlord  with  common  sense.  Now  just 
put  such  thoughts  from  your  mind  and  be  cheerful 
at  your  work  as  usual.  Remember,  Kitty,  we  are  al 
ways  in  the  hands  of  God,  and  He  can  do  as  He 
pleases  with  us.  Walk  ever  in  His  presence,  my  child, 


76  THE  BYENE8   OF   GLENGOULAH. 

and  be  resigned  to  His  holy  will.  Don't  believe  the 
half  of  what  you  hear,  Kitty  ;  just  let  it  out  at  one 
ear  as  fast  as  it  comes  in  at  the  other." 

The  cheerful  tones  of  the  venerable  Father's  voice 
and  his  smiling  face  brought  comfort  to  the  heart  of 
poor  Mrs.  Byrne. 

She  raised  her  eyes  to  Heaven,  then  bowing  her 
head,  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  on  her  forehead. 

"  Why,  then,  that  your  reverence  may  live  long 
and  die  happy  !  I  knew  I'd  get  comfort  and  conso 
lation  where  I  always  found  it;  indeed,  Father 
honey,  you  took  a  load  from  my  heart  the  mornin'." 

The  priest  then  led  them  to  talk  of  other  matters 
— the  farm,  the  stock,  the  crop,  diseases  of  cattle,  etc. ; 
then  he  came  to  more  domestic  matters. 

"  And  so  you  tell  me  Andy  is  makin'  great  prog 
ress  at  the  figures  ?  " 

"  Yes  indeed,  your  reverence ;  thanks  be  to  God. 
Mr.  Tobin  says  he  promises  to  be  a  fine  scholar ;  he 
writes  a  mighty  pretty  hand,  and  so  does  Mike  too, 
for  his  age,  but  Winny  bates  them  all  at  the  cy- 
pherin'.  The  master  is  might}7  proud  of  her,  she's 
so  apt  at  the  learnin'.  And  sure  the  dacent  man 
has  the  patience  of  Job  with  her ;  her  eye  is  every 
where  to  see  what  mischief  she  can  be  at.  Th'other 
night  she  run  the  shank  of  the  pipe  into  the  fire  til1 


THE   BYRNES   OF  GLENGOULAH.  77 

it  was  almost  red  hot,  just  at  the  time  she  knew  the 
poor  man  would  be  turnin'  round  to  take  a  draw, 
and  then  she  put  it  down  mighty  cute  and  slipped 
out.  He  took  it  up  by  the  head,  not  thinkin'  any 
thing,  and  burned  his  mouth  a  little.  Another  time, 

o/  * 

she'll  be  mounted  on  the  ditch  with  a  white  sheet 
about  her,  to  frighten  the  poor  man  as  he  goes  home. 
I  do  be  goin'  to  kill  her,  but  the  father  always  has 
an  excuse  for  her." 

Father  Esmond  laughed  heartily  at  Winny's  tricks, 
and  told  her  mother  not  to  be  uneasy  about  her,  for 
she  would  be  a  fine  girl  yet ;  that  it  was  the  lightness 
of  her  spirits  made  her  so  frolicsome. 

Toney  and  his  wife  arose  to  go  home,  but  Father 
Esmond  insisted  on  their  sitting  down  again.  He 
said  they  should  not  stir  a  step  until  they  eat  then 
dinner  with  him ;  that  it  would  soon  be  ready.  So  in 
about  half  an  hour  a  fine  dish  of  roast  chickens  and 
an  elegant  cut  of  "  belly  bacon  "  reposing  on  a  bunch 
of  young  greens,  made  their  appearance  on  the  di 
ning-room  table,  with  crisped  potatoes  jumping  out 
of  their  skins,  and  a  tankard  of  home-brewed  ale. 

When    the    cloth   was   removed,    a   good    glass 
of  punch   completed   the   entertainment.       Father 
O'Toole  was  in  a  distant  part  of  the  parish  attend 
ing  a  sick  call. 


78  THE    BYENES    OF    GLENGOULAH. 

After  chatting  awhile,  in  order,  as  they  said,  "  not 
to  be  like  the  beggars  that  run  off  the  minute  they 
get  their  bit,"  Toney  brought  round  "  the  baste," 
and,  both  mounting  as  before,  took  their  departure 
for  home,  greatly  refreshed  both  in  mind  and  body. 

Father  Esmond  watched  them  from  the  window 
until  a  turning  of  the  road  hid  them  from  his  sight. 

"  My  poor  simple  children,"  said  he,  shaking  his 
head  sorrowfully,  "  God  help  you,  and  soften  the 
hardships  that  are  before  you.  No  security  for  be 
ing  left  in  possession  of  the  farm,  made  valuable  by 
the  toil  and  strength  of  many  an  honest  man  of 
your  name !  No  hold  on  the  home  of  many  gene 
rations  but  the  honor  of  a  Sassenach,  and  that  man 
the  Rev.  Samuel  Wilson  Biggs,  the  most  Papist- 
hating,  smooth-faced  hypocrite  that  ever  landed  on 
these  shores,  and  that's  saying  a  big  word.  God 
help  poor  Ireland,  and  the  true  children  of  the 
soil !  Poor  Kitty  !  your  heart  bodes  evil,  as  well  it 
may,  from  one  of  his  cloth ;  but  if  you  only  heard 
all  I  did,  and  from  such  good  authority  too,  of  his 
career  in  Oxford !  My  poor,  honest,  virtuous  peo 
ple  !  my  heart  bleeds  for  them  all,  but  especially  for 
poor  Toney  Byrne,  the  last  of  the  once  proud  chief 
tains  of  Wicklow,  the  O'Byrnes  of  Glengoulah ! 
Oh,  God  help  us !  God  help  us !" 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH.  79 

Thus  soliloquized  Father  Esmond,  as  with  an  im 
patient  step  and  an  indignant  frown  he  paced  the 
sitting-room  up  and  down,  his  hands  behind  his 
back. 

Suddenly  stopping  at  the  table  he  looked  a  mo 
ment,  then  drawing  over  a  little  stool  covered  with 
black  cloth,  he  knelt,  and  bowing  his  white  head 
before  the  crucifix  he  prayed  from  his  heart  out, 
for  patience  for  himself  and  his  faithful  flock,  the 
dwellers  of  those  beautiful  hills. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ONE  fine  dry  morning  in  the  early  part  of  March, 
a  plain  but  richly-finished  carriage,  of  a  deep  shade 
of  chocolate,  with  linings  of  crimson  satin,  drawn  by 
a  noble  pair  of  dark  chestnut  horses,  was  brought  to 
a  sudden  stop  at  the  office  of  Mr.  De  Courcy  by  a  fat 
English  coachman  in  clerical  livery.  The  door  was 
thrown  open  and  the  step  let  down  in  a  twinkling 
by  the  liveried  footman,  and  out  stepped  two  aentle- 
men.  One  was  a  lean,  gaunt -looking  individual, 
with  keen,  sharp  eyes,  shaded  by  shaggy  brows,  high 
cheek-bones,  and  a  quantity  of  sandy-colored  frowsy 
hair.  He  was  attired  in  a  Highland  shooting-dress, 
or  something  resembling  it,  and  wore  a  drab  felt  hat 
turned  up  at  the  ears ;  his  hands  and  feet  were  large 
and  clumsy,  and  his  manner  ungainly.  This  inter 
esting  individual  was  Mr.  Sandy  McGlauren,  the 
head  steward  of  Glengoulah  Castle.  His  companion 
was  a  man  of  low  stature,  and  exceedingly  sallow 
complexion.  He  had  stealthy  eyes,  which  feared  to 
look  you  full  in  the  face,  excepting  when  worked 
upon  by  passion,  and  then  they  assumed  an  cxpres- 


THE    BYKNES    OF    GLENGOULAH.  81 

sion  of  fierce  malignity  ;  the  nose  was  pinched,  and 
the  mouth  and  chin  of  a  mean  receding  character. 
The  hair  was  lank,  black,  and  hung  low  on  the  fore 
head.  The  dress  was  plain  black,  with  the  exception 
of  the  long-tailed  white  cravat  worn  by  Anglican 
ministers,  and  commonly  called  "  a  white  choker." 

His  whole  appearance  bespoke  an  air  of  mock  hu 
mility  and  sanctimoniousness.  He  was  in  fact  the 
very  personification  of  the  lowest  English  mechanic, 
such  as  we  see  so  frequently  amongst  the  Mormons 
who  land  at  the  American  ports. 

This  gentleman,  it  is  needless  to  say,  was  the  Rev 
erend  Samuel  Wilson  Biggs,  the  proprietor  of  Glen- 
goulah  Castle,  and  rector  of  the  united  parishes  of 
Tinmanogue,  Slivedoon,  and  Kilorglan. 

Those  three  parishes  were  originally  separate,  and 
had  each  an  especial  rector ;  but  as  they  were  in  the 
gift  of  the  landlord  of  Glengoulah,  the  Reverend 
Samuel  Biggs  contrived  to  remove  the  incumbents, 
and  very  considerately  bestowed  the  whole  three 
upon  himself,  thereby  fulfilling  the  scriptural  adage 
that  "  charity  should  begin  at  home."  Besides  this 
very  wholesome  reason  for  retaining  the  three  par 
ishes,  the  Reverend  Samuel  had  two  still  more 
praiseworthy  objects  in  view.  First,  he  knew  how 
very  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  it  would  be  to  find 


82  THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH. 

another  equally  zealous  as  himself  in  propagating 
his  gospel  views — which  were  of  course  the  only 
true  views;  and  secondly,  he  felt  the  importance  of 
the  immense  income  which  those  parishes  yielded  in 
the  form  of  tithes,  in  assisting  his  godly  ideas ;  thus 
making  Ihe  mammon  of  iniquity  subserve  in  spread 
ing  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  amongst  those  be 
nighted  mountaineers.  In  the  three  parishes  afore 
said  he  placed  curates  at  small  salaries  to  do  the  sub 
ordinate  work  of  preaching,  giving  out  service,  and 
attending  to  the  sick — if  there  were  any  such  who 
required  their  presence. 

As  these  two  worthies  were  alighting  from  the 
chocolate-colored  chariot,  a  dusty  head  was  stuck  out 
of  one  of  the  windows  above  the  office,  and  the  voice 
belonging  to  it  cried  quickly:  "Come  here,  Mick, 
and  look  at  these  quare  lookin'  customers.  Who 
the  D'houl  are  they  at  all  ?"  Mick  thrust  out  a 
head  with  a  paper  cap,  and  a  face  all  besmeared 
with  flour:  "Oh,  then, swate  bad  luck  to  the  two 
of  yiz.  Yiz  are  the  darlin'  pair  of  turtle  doves !" 
And  Mick,  fixing  his  arms  akimbo,  gazed  down  ad 
miringly  with  a  comical  leer — "  That  the  divil  may 
come  jumpin'  for  the  two  of  yiz ;  sure  that's  the 
ould  Scotch  haro  from  the  castle,  and  his  psalm-sing 
ing  master.  Throth,  I  might  aisev  know  'twas  no 

\D  •/ 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH.  83 

dacent  bodies.  Sure  it  isn't  in  their  skins  to  look 
like  Christians." 

The  gentlemen  were  now  shown  into  the  private 
office  by  one  of  the  clerks,  and  the  dusty  heads  dis 
appeared. 

Mr.  De  Courcy  came  in  a  few  minutes  later,  and 
they  proceeded  to  business. 

After  some  conversation  about  the  estate,  Mr.  De 
Courcy  produced  Toney  Byrne's  lease,  and  those  of 
sixteen  other  tenants,  all  drawn  up  in  legal  form, 
only  awaiting  the  signature  of  the  landlord. 

The  Reverend  Samuel  refused  to  sign,  stating  as  a 
reason  that  he  considered  Mr.  McGlauren  an  excel 
lent  judge  of  the  value  of  land,  and  he  had  him  go 
through  the  farms,  examine  them,  and  report  upon 
his  observations.  His  (Mr.  McGlauren 's)  opinion  was 
that  the  farms  were  all  rented  at  an  absurdly  low 
figure,  and  therefore  he,  the  Reverend  Samuel,  had 
resolved  to  raise  the  rents  twenty-five  per  cent.,  and 
he  wished  Mr.  De  Courcy  to  signify  as  much  to  tne 
tenantry  next  rent-day. 

A  deep  flush  of  indignation  passed  over  the  noble 
features  of  Mr.  De  Courcy,  and  his  first  impulse  was 
to  resign  the  agency  on  the  spot,  but  he  remembered 
his  promise  to  Father  Esmond,  and  by  a  great  effort 
of  self-control  mastered  his  an<rer.  His  emotion  waa 


84  THU   BYRNES    OF    GLENGOULAH. 

keenly  noted  by  the  sharp  eyes  gleaming  from  under 
the  heavy  brows  of  the  Scotchman.  With  a  low 
chuckling  laugh,  and  a  shake  of  hiscarrotty  head,  he 
said :  "  The  Munusther  maun  be  reicht,  sir ;  he  maun 
be  reicht"  (right).  The  crimson,  but  of  a  paler 
shade,  again  for  a  moment  flushed  the  brow  of  Mr. 
De  Courcy.  Disdaining  however  to  notice  the  scoun 
drel,  he  turned  to  Mr.  Biggs,  and  represented  to 
him  the  impolicy  of  commencing  his  career  in  anew 
country  by  an  act  which  could  not  fail  to  render  his 
name  unpopular,  not  alone  with  his  own  tenantry, 
but  throughout  the  land ;  reminded  him  how  he 
came  there  a  stranger,  and  knew  nothing  of  the 
wants  or  feelings  of  the  people ;  told  him  how  his 
(Mr.  De  Courcy's)  father  had  been  agent  for  thirty- 
five  years  to  that  estate,  and  he  himself  was  close 
upon  twenty-five  years,  so  that  it  might  be  supposed 
he  had  the  best  knowledge  of  the  property  ;  and  he 
assured  him,  if  the  land  had  become  more  valuable, 
it  was  because  of  the  untiring  industry  of  the  occu 
piers,  who  had  literally  enriched  it  by  the  sweat  of 
their  brows  ;  that  it  would  be  a  poor  reward  for  the 
toil  of  years  to  make  them  pay  for  their  own  im 
provements,  and  a  very  poor  incentive  to  others  to 
labor  in  the  same  cause. 

The  Reverend  Samuel  during  this  discourse  sat 


THE    BYRNES    OF    GLENGOULAH.  85 

with  head  on  one  side,  eyes  half  closed,  and  hands 
meekly  folded  on  his  breast,  like  one  who  had  made 
up  his  mind  to  bear  all  contradictions  and  trials  for 
the  sake  of  spreading  the  gospel,  for  which  never- 
to-be-sufficiently-applauded  object  he  wanted  all  the 
money  he  could  scrape  together,  it  mattered  not 
whether  injustice,  oppression  of  the  poor,  ruin  of  fam 
ilies,  or  any  of  those  little  minor  circiwnstances  stood 
in  the  way — the  one  grand  end  had  to  be  accom 
plished.  Therefore,  smiling  benignly,  and  casting  his 
eyes  up  to  the  ceiling,  he  said,  with  an  approved  nasal 
pronunciation  :  "  My  good  friend,  I  am  but  a  steward 
in  the  vineyard  over  which  the  Lord  hath  appointed 
me.  I  must  do  His  work ;  besides,  you  will  please 
to  bear  in  mind  that  I  do  nothing  illegal.  I  do  but 
assert  my  rights.  If  those  people  of  whom  you 
speak  consider  the  rent  I  demand  exorbitant,  they 
can  give  up  their  farms,  and  I  can  find  occupiers 
for  them  immediately — those,  too,  who  are  of  the 
household  of  the  Lord." 

"  You  will  pardon  me,  reverend  sir,  if  I  remind 
you  that  property  has  its  duties  as  well  as  its  rights. 
Let  us  try  to  disguise  the  fact  as  we  may,  those  poor 
people  are,  like  ourselves,  made  from  the  slime  ot 
the  earth,  and  have  their  human  feelings,  and  human 
passions  too.  There  is  a  rule,  I  believe,  which  ex- 


86  THE   BYRNES    OF    GLENGOULAH. 

horts  us  to  do  unto  others  as  we  would  be  done  by. 
A  dark,  malignant   scowl   took   possession  of  the 
godly  features  of  the  Reverend  Samuel,  and  his  lips 
became  livid ;  but,  quickly  recovering  himself,  this 
consummate  Pharisee  arose  from  his  seat,  observing, 

"  Just  so,  Mr.  De  Courcy  ;  just  so.  You  have  hit 
upon  my  principle  exactly.  You  will  please  notify 
the  tenantry  as  I  told  you." 

"  I  must  be  very  dull  of  comprehension,"  said  Mr. 
De  Courcy,  smiling  sarcastically,  "  but  I  confess  I 
cannot  see  its  application  in  the  present  case." 

"  Ah,  my  good  friend  !  "  and  the  Reverend  Sam 
uel  laid  his  kid-gloved  hand  blandly  on  Mr.  De 
Courcy's  arm  and  rolled  his  eyes  upwards,  "  there 
are  many  of  the  sweetest  passages  in  the  book  of 
life,  the  mysterious  meaning  whereof  is  hidden  from 
those  who  are  not  called.  But  be  of  good  cheer  and 
pray ;  the  Lord  may  vouchsafe  to  enlighten  you  yet." 

"  I  must  beg  to  call  your  attention,  sir,"  said  Mr. 
De  Courcy,  thoroughly  disgusted,  "  to  the  case  of 
Anthony  Byrne.  You  surely  will  not  class  him. 
with  the  rest  of  the  tenantry  ?  " 

"  And  why  not,  pray  ?  Am  I  under  any  especial 
obligations  to  Mr.  Anthony  Byrne  that  I  should 
make  an  exception  in  his  favor '? " 

"  Well.  I  rather  think  yon  are,  Mr.  Biggs.     Your 


THE    BYRNES    OF    GLENGOULAH.  87 

ancestors  owed  the  peaceful  possession  of  these  es 
tates  to  the  ancestors  of  Toney  Byrne,  and  you  per 
sonally  owe  them  your  existence  at  the  present  hour." 
"  I  do  not  comprehend  you,  Mr.  De  Courcy." 
"  Know  then,  sir,  that  the  O'Byrnes  of  Glengou- 
lah,  the  direct  ancestors  of  this  man,  were  once  the 
proudest  and  most  powerful  chieftains  of  Wieklow. 
They  were  deprived  of  their  estates  for  no  crime  but 
fidelity  to  the  faith  of  their  fathers."  The  malig 
nant  scowl  again,  speedily  succeeded  by  upturned 
eyes.  "  One  of  those  chieftains  was  a  gallant  young 
man.  lie  had  just  been  married  when  a  deed  of  at 
tainder  was  sworn  against  him  and  his  young  wife, 
who  was  of  the  Talbot  family.  His  manhood  arose 
against  such  flagrant  injustice,  and  assembling  his 
tenantry  he  armed  them  and  fortified  the  eaitle  iu 
which  you  now  dwell.  The  roads  were  not  in  as 
good  condition  as  at  present,  and  let  me  tell  you  the 
British  soldiery  were  badly  handled  at  every  foray 
they  made  upon  Glengoulah.  Months  passed,  and 
still  O'By  me  was  master  of  his  castle;  but  the  Lord 
Protector,  stung  to  the  quick  at  the  oft-repeatfxi  de 
feats  and  losses  of  his  men,  had  ordered  a  desperate 
attack  to  be  made  on  the  stronghold  the  following 
spring.  Poor  O'Byrne  knew  his  fate  was  sealed. 
He  resolved  to  sell  his  life  dearly,  and  to  die  flghting 


88  THE   BTEXES    OF    GLENGOULAH. 

in  the  sacred  cause  of  home  and  altar.  An  unfore 
seen  circumstance  changed  his  determination.  Du 
ring  the  short  cessation  of  hostilities  pending  the  last 
attack  upon  the  castle,  and  whilst  O'Byrne  and  his 
enemies  were  both  making  grand  preparations,  his 
wife,  the  lady  Eineline,  went  to  visit  a  sick  tenant 
who  dwelt  on  the  opposite  hill.  As  it  was  in  the 
morning  she  deemed  no  other  attendant  necessary 
but  her  maid.  On  the  way  they  met  two  drunken 
English  soldiers,  who  gagged  them,  carried  them  into 
the  city  of  Dublin,  and  would  have  treated  them  in 
the  most  barbarous  manner,  but  a  sergeant  named 
Plover  just  happened  to  enter  the  house  where  they 
brought  the  females  for  concealment.  He  immedi 
ately  recognized  the  lady  Emeline  as  the  wife  of  the 
chieftain  of  Glengoulah,  whom  he  had  met  in  many 
a  stormy  encounter,  and  whom  he  admired  for  his 
bravery.  With  the  generosity  of  a  true  soldier,  he 
resolved  to  save  her  honor  at  the  risk  of  his  life — 
for  in  those  days  it  was  very  dangerous  to  interfere 
between  a  soldier  and  his  prey  ;  he  therefore  brought 
in  drugged  liquor  and  treated  the  miscreants,  pre 
tending  to  applaud  their  conduct.  Soon  they  slept 
soundly,  and  Sergeant  Plover  carried  the  lady  Eme 
line  and  her  maid  in  safety  to  the  castle.  The 
chieftain,  in  a  state  of  distraction,  was  with  his  retain- 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH.  89 

ers  scouring  the  hills  in  search  of  his  beloved  wife. 
They  dispatched  a  trusty  messenger  to  announce 
to  him  her  safe  arrival.  On  learning  from  her  the 
noble  conduct  of  Plover,  O'Byrne  was  so  filled  with 
gratitude  that  he  consented  to  surrender  without 
further  trouble  to  the  Lord  Protector,  on  condition 
that  Plover  was  made  proprietor  of  Glengoulah,  and 
he  himself  permitted  to  retire  to  the  Continent. 
The  first  part  of  the  proposal  was  gladly  acceded  to 
by  the  Lord  Protector,  for  that  castle  had  cost  him 
already  enough  of  blood  and  treasure,  and  Plover 
was  a  favorite  soldier,  having  many  times  distin 
guished  himself  by  his  bravery.  O'Byrne,  however, 
would  not  be  permitted  to  leave  the  country,  but 
was  allowed  as  a  favor  to  become  a  tenant  farmer 
on  the  estate  of  which  he  was  the  rightful  lord. 
This  was  done  to  humble  his  proud  spirit,  and  the 
gallant  young  chieftain  submitted  to  his  hard  fate 
with  the  fortitude  of  a  noble  Christian  soldier. 

He  tilled  his  farm  with  his  own  hands  and  the 
kind  offices  of  his  neighbors — once  his  old  retainers, 
who  would  insist  on  helping  him,  even  at  the  risk 
of  proscription.     He  thus  contrived  to  make  a  living" 
for  his  family. 

"  Mr.  Plover  after  a  while  built  him  a  comfortable 
house,  and  gave  him  the  farm  at  a  nominal  rent 


90  THE   BYRNES    OF    GLENGOULAH. 

He  would  have  given  it  in  fee  simple,  but  the  law  for 
bade  one  of  his  faith  to  hold  property.  Mr.  Plover 
in  his  will  left  strict  injunctions  to  all  his  descend 
ants  to  respect  forever  the  descendants  of  O'Byrne, 
and'  never  to  harass  or  annoy  them  in  any  manner, 
particularly  specifying  how  they  were  indebted 
to  that  family  for  their  position  in  society.  The 
son  of  this  man  was  made  a  baronet,  and  so 
the  Plover  family  came  to  possess  Glengoulah 
Castle. 

"  With  regard  to  your  personal  affair,  Mr.  Biggs, 
your  father,  the  uncle  by  marriage  of  the  late  Sir 
Charles  Plover,  was  taken  a  prisoner  by  the  Insur 
gents  in  the  rebellion  of  1T9S.  They  had  been  tri 
umphant  in  Wextbrd,  and  he  had  papers  upon  him 
which  convicted  him  of  being  a  spy  for  the  govern 
ment.  He  had  but  lately  come  from  England  on  a 
visit  to  his  brother-in-law. 

"  He  was  tried  by  the  court  martial  of  the  Insur 
gents  and  sentenced  to  be  hanged  at  daylight  next 
morning.  Byrne,  the  father  of  the  present  Anthony, 
remembering  the  peril  from  which  an  English  sol 
dier  once  rescued  one  of  his  ancestors,  resolved  to 
save  his  life.  But  though  he  was  high  in  favor  with 
the  Insurgent  chiefs,  he  begged  Captain  Biggs's  lifo 
in  vain  ;  so  at  all  risk  he  cut  the  fetters  that  bomvl 


THE   BYRNES    OF    GLENGOULAII.  91 

him  during  the  night,  and  put  him  in  safety  on  the 
road  to  Glengoulah.  It  was  after  this  occurrence 
that  Captain  Biggs  married  and  you  were  born. 
The  present  representative  of  the  once  princely  chief 
tains  of  Glengoulah  is  now  but  a  peasant  farmer  ;  and 
a  more  simple-minded,  honest  man — a  more  improv 
ing,  industrious  tenant,  or  a  more  humble,  peacea 
ble  Christian,  to  my  mind,  does  not  live  on  any  town- 
land  in  Ireland  than  Anthony  Byrne.  I  have  his 
lease  here,  and  you  surely  will  not  refuse  a  request 
specified  in  the  will  of  all  the  Plovers.  It  is  but 
common  justice  to  the  man  to  whose  ancestors,  Mr. 
Biggs,  you  owe  not  alone  your  estates,  but  your  very 
existence." 

The  Keverend  Samuel  Biggs  had  reseated  himself, 
and  it  would  require  the  pencil  of  a  Rubens  to  por 
tray  the  various  changes  in  his  countenance  whilst 
Mr.  De  Courcy  related  the  history  of  the  O'Byrnes. 
One  time  his  cheeks  and  forehead  would  turn  black 
as  night,  and  his  lips  become  a  livid  white  with  rage  ; 
again  he  would  steal  a  glance  at  him  under  his  dark 
brows,  and  the  ferocity  of  a  tiger  would  gleam  from 
his  sinister  eyes,  but  often est  he  kept  those  visual  or 
gans  almost  closed,  and  retained  his  old  attitude  of 
Pharisaical  sanctity. 

The  Scotchman  remained  motionless,  and  never 


92  THE    BYRNES    OF    GLENGOULAH. 

once  moved  liis  cold,  keen  eyes  from  the  face  of  Mr 
De  Courcy. 

When  that  gentleman  ceased,  his  fine  open  coun 
tenance  was  lit  up  by  the  exciting  subject  on  which 
he  had  been  speaking. 

Taking  the  lease  of  Toney  Byrne  from  the  pile  on 
the  table  before  him,  he  pushed  it  with  the  writing 
tray  towards  Mr.  Biggs,  who,  suddenly  becoming 
animated,  looked  up  in  his  face  with  a  malignant 
sneer,  saying  — "  My  good  friend,  with  all  your 
high  eulogisms  on  this  O'Byrne  family,  it  is  very 
apparent  from  your  own  showing  that  they  were 
ever  of  a  rebellious  spirit,  and  disloyal  to  their 
lawful  sovereign ;  for  if  they  had  been  obedient 
subjects  they  would  have  conformed  to  the  glori 
ous  Reformation,  and  thus  retained  their  castle  and 
estates.  The  loss  of  their  wealth  and  social  posi 
tion  was  a  just  punishment  upon  them  for  their 
disaffection  to  the  constituted  authorities.  I  have 
no  sympathy  with  rebellion,  and  shall  ever  dis 
countenance  it." 

"And  suppose,  sir,"  urged  Mr.  De  Courcy  again, 
"  that  obedience  to  the  commands  of  one's  sovereign 

O 

became  disobedience  to  the  commands  of  God,  how 
would  you  act  in  that  case  ?" 

The  Reverend  Samuel  almost  foamed  with  rage, 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH.  93 

while  a  sardonic  fire  gleamed  from  his  cat-like  eyeb. 
Rising  from  his  chair,  he  hissed  out : 

"  Sir,  you  mistake  my  character  altogether.  1 
shall  make  it  my  business  to  find  out  the  disloyal 
persons  on  my  estate,  and  get  rid  of  them  by  all 
means.  I  will  never  sign  that  lease ;  attend  to  your 
orders,  sir."  Then  compressing  his  livid  lips,  he 
stepped  into  his  carriage,  followed  by  the  chuckling 
Sandy,  and  in  a  moment  they  were  gone. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

FOE  a  few  seconds  after  they  left,  Mr.  De  Courcy 
stood  like  one  transfixed,  looking  at  the  door  by 
which  they  went  out,  and  which  the  cautious  Scotch 
man  had  shut  close  after  them  ;  the  veins  in  his  fore 
head  were  swollen,  and  his  eyes  flashed  wildly.  Sud 
denly  stamping  his  boot  impatiently  on  the  floor, 
he  drew  himself  up  to  his  full  height,  gave  his 
breast  a  stroke,  and  exclaimed  :  "  What  is  the  matter 
with  you,  Charles  De  Courcy  ?  Have  you  become  a 
poltroon,  that  you,  an  Irish  gentleman  of  unsullied 
honor,  suffered  that  upstart  English  hound  to  order 
you?  Yes!  order  me  like  a  hireling?"  Making 
a  bound  to  the  door,  he  touched  the  handle.  It 
opened,  and  before  him  stood  Father  Esmond,  bow 
ing  with  uncovered  head,  his  white  hair  flowing  be 
hind,  and  unable  to  articulate  from  his  labored 
breathing. 

"  Oh,  my  dear  venerable  friend,"  said  Mr.  De 
Courcy,  grasping  his  hands,  and  bowing  over  them 
to  hide  his  emotion.  His  passion  was  all  gone  now  ; 
he  was  subdued  as  a  child.  Leading  the  old  gentle- 


THE   BYRNES    OF    GLENGOULAH.  95 

man  to  the  fire  he  placed  him  in  an  easy-chair,  roused 
up  a  bright  blaze,  and  preparing  some  mulled  wine 
made  him  swallow  it,  with  all  the  tenderness  of  a 
son.  When  the  good  father  was  better,  Mr.  De 
Courcy  said  : 

"  Assuredly  it  was  Providence  sent  you  to  me  to 
day,  and  just  at  the  right  moment  too." 

"  Ah,  I  understand  what  you  mean.  I  passed 
Biggs  and  the  Scotchman  as  I  drove  round  the 
avenue  to  the  mills,  and  he  looked  black  as  mid 
night.  I  thought  immediately  there  was  bad  news 
for  my  poor  flock."  Glancing  at  the  table,  he  said, 
eagerly,  "  Has  he  signed  the  leases  ?" 

"  Indeed  he  has  not,  Father  Esmond  ;  he  refused 
to  do  so  point  blank." 

"But  Toney  Byrne's!  He  could  not  refuse  to 
sign  his  ?  Tell  me  that  he  signed  Toney's,  and  I  will 
rest  easy." 

"  "Would  that  I  could  do  so,  Father  !  There  it  is, 
apart  from  the  rest,  where  I  pushed  it  towards  his 
chair,  after  making  a  final  appeal  towards  hie  sense 
of  justice— -jmticc  !  "  he  repeated,  bitterly;  "  justice 
from  a  Pharisee — a  vile,  canting  hypocrite  ;"  and  he 
flushed  to  the  temples.  Arising,  he  paced  the  room 
a  few  times,  then  sat  down  and  related  the  whole  sub 
stance  of  his  conversation  with  -Biggs,  assuring  Fa- 


96  THE   BYK^ES    OF    GLENGOLLAif. 

ther  Esmond  that  but  for  the  promise  he  had  made 
him,  and  his  figure,  which  seemed  continually  to 
rise  before  him,  he  would  have  thrown  up  the  agency, 
and  flung  him  neck  and  heels  out  of  the'  office. 
"Indeed,  Father  Esmond,  my  temper  was  never 
BO  sorely  tried  in  my  life." 

"  Well,  God  be  praised  !  my  dear  son ;  God  be 
praised  !  It  affords  me  some  consolation  to  think  I 
was  any  way  instrumental  in  preventing  the  destruc 
tion  of  my  poor  people,  for  if  you  gave  them  up 
they  were  lost  altogether." 

"  Father,  I  made  you  a  promise,  and  I  will  adhere 
to  it  at  every  cost  short  of  honor." 

"  Twenty-five  per  cent,  of  an  increase !  Oh,  my 
poor  children  !  My  poor  children  !  That's  what 
brought  me  here  to-day.  There  was  a  report  that 
the  rents  were  about  to  be  raised.  Altogether,  good 
ness  knows,  they  are  paying  enough;  but  I  never 
dreamed  of  anything  so  monstrous.  Twenty-five 
per  cent.,  Mr.  De  Courcy  !  Can  any  government  call 
itself  just  which  permits  one  class  to  hold  such 
power  over  another  ? " 

"  My  dear  Father  Esmond,  I  have  always  been 
conservative  in  my  views,  as  you  know  ;  and  as  long 
as  the  lord  of  the  soil  acted  with  justice  and  human 
ity  to  his  tenantry,  I  deemed  it  best  to  take  things 


THE   BYRNES    OF   GLENGOULAH.  97 

as  they  were.  But  I  now  see  the  folly  of  leaving 
any  class  utterly  dependent  upon  another.  I  could 
scarcely  believe  once  that  any  one  holding  the  posi 
tion  of  a  gentleman  could  prefer  a  few  paltry  pounds 
to  the  love  and  respect  of  those  from  whom  he 
derives  his  income.  I  have  no  language  strong 
enough  to  denounce  the  British  Government  if  it 
permits  such  things  to  exist  any  longer.  It  is  a 
plague  spot  on  its  legislation." 

"  Plague  spot !  Why,  my  dear  sir,  it  is  robbery  of 
the  most  barefaced  kind.  We  will  suppose  a  very 
common  case.  Give  a  man  a  piece  of  ground,  in 
some  cases  wild  mountain  land,  which  never  yielded 
you  any  profit;  let  him  toil  on  it  from  morn  till 
night,  and  his  sons  after  him,  and  their  sons  again — 
aye,  and  their  daughters,  too  ;  and  after  generations 
have  ploughed  it,  manured  it,  watered  it,  weeded  it, 
and  watched  over  it  with  unceasing  care  and  unre 
mitting  toil,  you  inherit  it  and  come  a  stranger  into 
the  country.  You  say  :  '  That  is  a  neat  farm  ;  how 
much  does  that  man  pay  V  'So  much.'  '  Ridicu 
lous  !  That  farm  would  bring  much  more,  and 
more  I  will  have.'  '  But  the  man  in  possession  made 
it  what  it  is.'  '  What  do  I  care  ?  The  law  gives  it 
to  me,  and  I  only  claim  my  legal  rights.'  Sir,  I 
respect  the  highwayman  as  a  far  more  honorable 


98  THE   BYKNES   OF    GLEXGOULAH. 

member  of  society  than  that  man,  for  he  will  can 
didly  tell  you  he  came  to  rob  you  ;  there  is  no 
pretence  about  him.  But  what  shall  we  say  of  the 
law  that  upholds  the  scoundrel ;  not  only  permits 
him  to  violate  the  first  principles  of  justice,  but 
supports  him  in  the  commission  of  two  crimes  which 
cry  to  Heaven  for  vengeance — oppression  of  the  poor, 
and  defrauding  the  laborer  of  his  wages?  Now  I 
ask  you,  if  you  were  not  an  eye-witness  of  the  fact, 
could  you  believe  that  the  boastful  and  self-styled 
liberty-loving  British  Government  could  perpetrate 
such  enormities  in  the  face  of  the  world  in  the  nine 
teenth  century  ? " 

The  old  gentleman  was  fairly  out  of  breath. 

"  Keally,  Father  Esmond,  it  never  occurred  to  me 
in  that  light  before.  It  is  indeed  monstrous,  and  I 
shall  make  it  my  business  to  have  this  case  brought 
before  Parliament.  It  is  not  rightly  understood,  I 
think,  or  those  obnoxious  laws  would  be  repealed, 
and  more  just  ones  substituted." 

"  Ha !  ha !  ha !  Justice  from  the  British  Parlia 
ment  !  My  dear  friend,  can  it  be  possible  you  put 
faith  in  such  a  fallacy  ?  I  am  too  old  a  bird  to  be 
caught  with  such  chaft  as  English  legislation.  I've 
seen  that  tried  too  often,  and  always  with  the  same 
result.  God  give  my  poor  people  patience  until  He 


THE    BYRNES   OF   GLENGODLAH.  99 

shall  send  them  a  deliverer  from  their  intolerable 
burdens." 

"  Well,  Father,  I  confess  to  having  some  faith  still 
left  in  British  shame,  at  least,  if  not  in  British  jus 
tice." 

"  Shame  !  How  long  have  honest  men  been  trying 
to  arouse  their  sense  of  shame  to  the  scandal  of 
making  a  Catholic  people  like  the  Irish  support  the 
Protestant  Church  Establishment,  whose  doctrines 
they  utterly  repudiate  ?  Just  think  of  it :  an  impov 
erished,  overtaxed  people  supporting  in  gorgeous 
luxury  an  institution  that  does  nothing  for  them, 
either  in  soul  or  bod}7 !  Where  is  there  either  shame 
or  justice  in  that — tell  me  ? " 

"  Oh,  I  admit  there  ia  no  excuse  for  that  abomin 
able  tithe  system  ;  but  you  know  religious  bigotry 
can  transform  the  most  sane  man  into  a  fanatic. 
But  here  is  a  subject  altogether  apart  from  such 
feelings — a  simple  subject  of  right  between  man 
and  man.  I  really  think  the  matter  has  not  been 
sufficiently  investigated  and  kept  before  the  public; 
and  I  do  believe  if  it  were,  even  English  legislation 
would  have  been  shamed  into  doing  justice." 

"Well,  my  son,  try  it;  there  is  no  teacher  like 
experience." 

"  Pardon  me,  Father  Esmond ;  1  should  not  have 


100         THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

kept  you  here  so  long.  Those  exciting  topics  make 
me  neglect  good  manners.  Pray,  lean  on  my  arm, 
sir,  and  we  will  go  up  to  the  house.  Mrs.  De  Courcy 
will  be  charmed  to  see  you." 

And  so,  between  chatting  with  his  amiable  host 
and  hostess,  walking  through  the  gardens  and  hot 
houses,  viewing  the  mills  and  the  new  machinery, 
dining  and  listening  delightedly  to  Mrs.  De  Courcy 
singing  Moore's  melodies,  accompanying  herself  on 
the  harp,  it  was  near  eight  o'clock  of  a  bright  moon 
light  evening  when  Father  Esmond  arrived  at  his 
own  door,  to  the  great  delight  of  Mrs.  Malone,  who 
was  in  a  terrible  state  of  excitement  about  his 
asthma,  and  who  immediately  commenced  scolding 
him,  while  she  arranged  his  chair  and  footstool  in 
the  most  comfortable  manner,  and  piled  the  blazing 
turf.  She  then  transferred  herself  to  the  kitchen 
to  scold  Pat  Lally,  his  servant  man,  for  "  keeping 
his  reverence  out  in  the  night  air." 

We  will  leave  herself  and  Pat  jawing,  and  take 
a  peep  at  the  poor,  benighted  people  of  the  town 
where  this  good  pastor  resided,  and  see  how  they 
fared  for  education. 

A  short  distance  from  the  priest's  house,  about  half 
way  down  the  green,  was  a  long,  low  building,  con  - 
taming  rows  of  benches  against  the  walls  on  which 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGODLAH.        101 

hung  some  half-faded  maps,  boards  with  simple  spell 
ing  and  reading-lessons  for  the  junior  classes,  and  a 
couple  of  black-boards.  At  the  upper  end  of  this 
apartment  was  a  desk  or  rostrum  to  which  three 
steps  ascended.  Over  it  on  the  wall  hung  a  large 
ordinary  colored  engraving,  in  a  narrow  black  frame, 
of  the  Crucifixion.  On  the  desk  was  laid  the  largest 
edition  of  Walker's  Dictionary,  bearing  palpable  evi 
dence  of  having  been  well  used,  and  a  formidable 
looking  cane  with  a  brass  ferrule  and  top.  This  cane 
was  used  with  terrible  effect  on  the  sides  of  the  desk 
for  the  purpose  of  striking  terror  by  its  noise,  and 
was  a  constant  companion  of  its  owner  on  all  occa 
sions,  save  when  it  rained.  In  this  desk  was  seated 
every  day  a  little  dumpy  man  much  below  the  mid 
dle  size,  while  the  broad  shoulders  and  massive  head 
might  have  belonged  to  a  pair  of  legs  three  times 
the  size  of  those  that  bore  them.  The  upper  part 
of  the  body  was  evidently  intended  for  a  six-footer, 
but  nature  in  some  stingy  freak  cut  the  legs  short, 
and  so  they  were  forced  to  expand  as  best  they 
might,  to  bear  up  the  ponderous  body.  Accordingly 
they  did  expand  broadwise,  and  a  pair  of  calves  like 
a  Dutch  Burgher's  was  the  consequence.  These  calves 
were  encased  in  spotless  white  hose  with  deep  ribs, 
while  the  feet  belonging  to  them  were  covered  in 


102         THE  BYRNES  OF  GLEXGOULAH. 

well-shaped,  highly-polished  shoes,  fastened  by  steel 
buckles.  The  remainder  of  the  costume  consisted 
of  a  snow-white  shirt  and  cravat,  a  dark-blue  body 
coat,  with  bright  brass  buttons,  a  pair  of  breeches  of 
snuff-colored  cloth,  fastened  at  the  side  of  each  knee 
by  three  small  brass  buttons,  a  vest  of  the  same  ma 
terial  and  buttons  ;  a  black  beaver  hat,  rather  of  the 
Quaker  shape,  as  the  leaf  was  a  good  deal  wider 
than  those  usually  in  vogue  ;  coiled  up  nicely  in  the 
crown  of  the  hat  was  a  clean  blue  muslin  handker 
chief  with  a  white  vine  border ;  in  the  fob  of  the 
breeches  reposed  a  huge  silver  watch,  which  kept 
time  to  the  second,  and  pendant  from  it  hung  dang 
ling  a  purple-watered  watch  ribbon,  two  inches  wide, 
at  the  end  of  which  was  fastened  a  large  gold  seal 
and  key.  On  a  wet  or  very  cold  day  an  overcoat  of 
black  freize  was  laid  carefully  across  the  shoulders, 
the  sleeves  hanging  loose,  and  a  large  blue  cotton 
umbrella  replaced  the  cane.  This  costume  never 
varied  once  during  the  lifetime  of  any  one  who 
knew  him. 

His  features  were  large,  strongly  marked  and 
coarse  ;  the  mouth,  a  little  open,  displayed  a  most  in 
dependent  set  of  teeth,  for  each  stood  on  its  own 
merits,  with  a  space  between,  and  as  they  had  no 
chance  for  bad  companionship  they  remained  un- 


BYKNES    OF   GLENGOULAH.  103 

tainted  to  the  age  of  85.  The  checks  were  bloom 
ing  as  those  of  youth,  and  the  head  covered  with  a 
.profusion  of  coarse  hair,  which  was  white  as  the 
mountain  snow.  Such  was  the  personal  appearance 
of  Mr.  Michael  RafFerty,  for  more  than  forty  years 
the  teacher  or  "master"  of  Tinmanogue  school. 
Like  most  of  his  class,  he  was  a  fine  writer,  a  splen 
did  mathematician,  arid  well  versed  in  grammar, 
geography,  and  history,  but,  unlike  many  country 
masters,  he  knew  nothing  of  the  classics. 

In  repose  the  face  seemed  harsh,  for  the  brow  was 
contracted,  partly  by  thought  and  partly  from  the 
habit  he  had  formed  of  trying  to  terrify  refractory 
urchins;  but  when  animated,  or  in  conversation  he 
looked  up,  you  noted  the  gentle  expression  of  his 
mild  blue  eye,  and  your  heart  warmed  to  him. 
Meet  him  where  you  would,  in  the  school-house  or 
in  the  street,  morning,  noon,  or  night,  Sunday  or 
week-day,  he  always  looked  as  if  he  had  just  made 
his  toilet ;  his  shirt  and  cravat  were  always  clean, 
his  clothes  always  brushed,  his  hat  always  unruffled, 
his  stockings  always  spotless,  and  his  shoes  ever 
shining  like  a  looking-glass.  It  mattered  not  how 
wet  or  sloppy  the  village  streets  were,  he  could 
manage  to  navigate  through  them  without  a  speck. 
It  was  a  matter  of  astonishment  to  all  the  villagers 


101        THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

how  on  earth  he  could  ever  pick  his  steps  in  the 
dark  of  a  winter's  morning  going  to  the  chapel,  back 
to  his  lodgings,  and  then  to  the  school-house,  with 
out  speck  or  stain,  excepting  a  very  small  fringe  of 
mud  to  the  soles  of  his  shoes.  Many  a  one  followed 

him  to  learn  the  art,  and  gave  it  up  in  despair,  de- 

• 

daring  it  was  a  particular  knack  he  had. 

And  that  little  dumpy  old  bachelor  (Mr.  Eafferty 
never  married),  with  such  an  odd  figure  and  coarse 
features,  held  one  of  the  noblest  and  purest  souls  that 
ever  dwelt  in  mortal  coil.  For  over  forty  years  Ii3 
was  known  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  Tinmanogue  to 
be  in  the  chapel  every  morning  as  the  Angelus  was 
chiming  six  o'clock.  Assembling  all  the  poor  and 
whoever  wished  to  join,  he  recited  public  morning 
prayer,  read  a  pious  chapter,  and  then  those  who-.-e 
duties  would  not  permit  them  to  stay,  went  off,  and 
those  who  could  wait  remained  to  hear  mass. 
Amongst  the  latter  was  always  our  venerable  friend. 
After  mass  he  went  to  breakfast,  and  thence  to 
school,  where  he  led  many  a  pupil,  not  alone  in  the 
walks  of  science,  but  in  the  more  difficult  path  ot 
Christian  perfection.  At  five  o'clock  every  eve 
ning  he  was  again  in  the  chapel  reciting  for  a  crowd 
of  faithful  souls  the  Rosary  of  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
and  many  a  fervent  Hail  Mary  went  up  for  the  con 


THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        105 

veivion  of  those  who  strayed  from  the  right  path. 
And  who  can  tell  how  many  wanderers,  foot-sore 
and  weary,  were  brought  back  to  their  dear  Father's 
home  by  the  prayers  of  that  humble  and  faithful 
band  ?  Here  let  me  remark,  in  passing,  that  the  last 
years  of  this  most  perfect  man  have  convinced  me, 
more  than  any  other  circumstance,  that  we  will 
have  much  to  suffer  for  our  many  imperfections — 
even  the  best  of  us — before  we  can  enjoy  the  Beat 
ific  Vision.  He  was  a  little  over  85  years  of  age 
when  he  left  this  world,  and  I  heard  those  who 
knew  him  from  his  early  years — venerable  priests 
who  had  grown  up  with  him — declare  his  whole  life 
to  be  one  of  most  spotless  sanctity;  his  exterior 
cleanliness,  and  the  neatness  with  which  he  picked 
his  steps  through  the  mire,  were  a  type  in  him  (it  is  by 
no  means  always  the  case,  however,)  of  that  interior 
purity  of  soul  which  he  possessed,  and  which 
brought  him  unstained  through  the  mire  of  tempta 
tions.  Yet,  for  five  years  before  he  quitted  this  life, 
he  was  never  able  to  leave  his  bed.  He  lost  the  use 
of  his  limbs,  and  a  most  depressing  languor  fell 
upon  his  once  stalwart  form ;  but,  lying  there  help 
less  as  a  child,  the  Christian  soul  rose  above  this 
world  and  its  passing  sorrows ;  of  him  it  might  be 
truly  said,  he  lived  on  earth  but  not  in  it.  Every 


106         THE  BFBXES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

time  one  of  the  priests  would  come  to  give  him  the 
Holy  Sacrament  he  would  beg  with  streaming  eyes 
to  be  raised  to  a  kneeling  posture  in  the  bed,  that 
he  might  more  fittingly  receive  his  Lord  and  Master 
as  became  a  sinner. 

Light  be  the  turf  of  holy  Ireland  on  your  breast, 
most  dear  and  venerable  friend  !  I  see  your  every 
feature  before  me  as  distinctly  to-day  as  when  a 
child  I  sat  upon  your  knee,  when  you  puffed  out 
your  cheeks  and  laughed  so  joyously  when  I  broke 
them  in  with  my  tiny  fists.  Many  an  hour  I  passed 
since  then  in  most  profitable  converse  beside  that 
prison  bed,  yet  a  murmur  never  escaped  his  lips. 
Many  forgot  him,  as  will  ever  be  the  case  in  this 
world,  and  sometimes  he  fared  very  poorly  ;  but  his 
love,  his  trust,  his  every  hope,  were  placed  where 
they  ever  bear  fruit.  His  only  regret  was  his  inability 
to  go  to  the  chapel  and  be  present  at  the  Adorable 
Sacrifice.  Many  an  effort  he  made  of  a  beautiful 
Sunday  in  summer  to  arise  and  creep  along  by  any 
means,  and  only  gave  up  the  attempt  when  he  sank 
exhausted,  and  the  good  couple  with  whom  he 
lodged  carried  him  back  to  bed.  For  two  nights 
before  he  died  the  most  ravishing  music  filled  that 
humble  dwelling.  Some  of  the  neighbors  arose  to 
look  out,  thinking  it  was  a  band  returning  with 


THE    BVItNES    OF    GLENGOULAH.  107 

excursionists,  or  from  a  party  at  the  house  of  some 
of  the  gentry ;  but  the  musicians  were  invisible,  and 
still  the  entrancing  strains  filled  the  air.  Upon 
entering  his  room  next  morning  (for  he  always  slept 
undisturbed  at  night)  his  landlady,  a  good,  pious 
woman,  who  deemed  it  an  honor  to  wait  upon  him 
— as  well  she  might — found  him  conversing  with 
unseen  spirits,  his  face  radiant,  she  declared  ;  and  on 
calling  to  him  he  remained  a  good  while  perfectly 
unconscious  of  her  presence.  He  afterwards  told 
her  the  Blessed  Mother  and  her  holy  spouse,  St. 
Joseph,  had  been  to  visit  him,  and  were  coming 
next  day  at  the  same  hour  to  take  him  away. 
Accordingly,  next  morning  the  neighbors  were  all 
assembled  in  his  room  when  they  heard  him  mur 
mur,  "  Oh,  Blessed  Mother,  I  come !  Can  it  be 
possible  !"  and  his  exulting  spirit  took  wing  in  that 
glorious  company.  Who  can  doubt  that  myriads  of 
angelic  spirits  were  there  attending  on  the  Queen  of 
Heaven,  and  that  they  attuned  their  viewless  harps 
to  celestial  melody  ? 

Such  was  the  teacher  from  whom  most  of  tho 
men  and  boys  of  Tinmanogue  received  their  educa 
tion.  As  might  be  expected,  Father  Esmond  had 
a  great  respect  for  Mr.  Rafferty,  and  felt  well  satis 
fied  to  have  his  school  under  the  charge  of  such-  a 


108         THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAF. 

master.  Let  us  now  see  how  the  girls  fared  for  in 
struction.  There  had  long  been  established  in  the 
neighboring  town  of  Ardmore,  a  convent  of  the 
Presentation  order,  where  the  ladies  devoted  their 
lives  to  the  education  of  the  poor;  and  where,  in 
addition  to  the  usual  English  branches,  they  devoted 
their  attention  to  straw-plaiting,  lace-making,  em 
broidery,  and  every  kind  of  work,  both  useful  and 
ornamental.  Another  convent,  of  the  order  of  Our 
Lady  of  Mercy,  had  a  fine  academy  for  the  education 
of  the  wealthy,  where  every  accomplishment  was 
taught.  For  those  who  could  not  come  into  town 
to  school,  two  male  and  one  female  teacher  went  out 
giving  lessons  at  the  farm-houses  through  the  hills. 

One  of  these  teachers,  Mr.  Tobin,  was,  as  I  said 
elsewhere,  engaged  by  Toney  Byrne  to  visit  his 
farm  three  times  in  the  week  and  give,  as  lie  ex 
pressed  it  himself,  "  a  draught  of  his  superfluous 
knowledge  from  the  overflowing  fountain  of  his  brain 
to  the  young  aspirants  who  thirsted  to  drink  there 
from."  Mr.  Tobin  was  a  large-boned  man,  who 
walked  with  a  shuffling  gait,  and  always  looked  as  if 
his  bones  were  thrown  together  in  a  great  hurry, 
being  left  to  shift  for  themselves  and  get  under  the 
skin  after  their  own  fashion — and  a  remarkably 
funny  fashion  it  was — for  he  seemed  entirely  dis- 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLRNGOULAH.        109 

jointed  at  every  step  lie  took ;  yet  lie  managed  to 
get  over  a  considerable  space  of  ground  in  as  short  a 
time  as  most  men  after  all.  His  garb  was  what  is 
usually  called  "  shabby  genteel."  His  body-coat, 
vest  and  pantaloons  were  all  black  once,  and  still 
had  some  faint  pretentious  to  that  approved  shade 
in  gentlemen's  wear;  his  shirt  and  cravat  a  dingy 
white;  his  hat,  a  tall  thin  "stove  pipe  "  with  a  nar 
row  rim,  contained  three  articles,  a  brown  cotton 
handkerchief,  a  small  black-covered  prayer-book, 
and  a  pair  of  beads,  all  of  the  greasiest  description. 
His  clothes  looked  as  loosely  hung  as  himself.  His 
head  was  bald,  and  his  features  sharp,  as  was  also 
his  disposition,  for  all  his  remarks  tended  to  the 
sarcastic.  Yet,  withal,  he  was  a  fine  teacher  and  a 
magnificent  penman.  Parents  deemed  themselves 
fortunate  who  had  engaged  Mr.  Tobin,  and  many  of 
the  gentry  secured  his  services  for  their  children  ; 
but  though  all  respected  him  for  his  age  and  learn 
ing,  no  one  loved  him  ;  hence  the  little  scruple 
young  people  had — your  humble  servant  included — 
in  playing  practical  jokes  on  the  old  man. 

The  other  teacher  who  "shared  the  labors  of  Mr. 
Tobin  in  the  visiting  department,  was  a  young  man 
who  had  been  a  pupil  of  Mr.  Michael  Raflerty. 
He  dressed  more  fashionably  than  either  of  the  oth- 


110        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

er  masters,  and  was  in  fact  quite  a  dandy  teacher 
He  knitted  bis  brows  very  hard  and  pursed  out  bis 
lips  very  much  to  give  himself  an  air  of  profound 
scholarship  and  determination ;  but  for  all  his  fine 
clothes  and  fine  airs  he  lacked  the  real  knowledge  of 
the  others,  and  was  consequently  little  heeded.  From 
this  circumstance  he  was  frequently  heard  to  lament 
the  decay  of  literary  taste,  and  to  declare  it  as  "  big 
positive  conviction,"  and  no  one  need  try  to  persuade 
him  to  the  contrary,  "  that  if  a  second  Byron  arose 
he  would  not  be  appreciated  in  those  degenerate 
days."  Such,  dear  reader,  was  the  state  of  educa 
tion  in  the  town  lands  of  Ardmore,  Glengoulah,  and 
Tinmanogue  when  the  Rev.  Samuel  Wilson  Biggs, 
taking  pity,  in  the  benevolence  of  his  charitable  bo 
som,  on  the  benighted  condition  of  his  semi-barbar 
ous  tenantry,  determined  to  carry  out  a  most  philan 
thropic  idea  which  had  long  lain  dormant  in  that 
very  interesting  portion  of  his  clerical  form — it  was 
to  build  a  school-house  on  his  demesne,  where  his  sis 
ters  could  find  the  most  gratifying  occupation  for 
their  superabundant  time,  and  also  earn  a  well- 
deserved  reputation  for  sanctity. 

The  Rev.  Samuel,  being  a  man  of  energy,  or,  as 
he  would  express  it, ';  consumed  with  the  zeal  of  the 
Lord,"  had  no  sooner  matured  his  plans  than  he  put 


THE  BYKNE8  OF  GLENGOULAH.        Ill 

them  into  execution  •  bricklayers,  carpenters,  paint 
ers,  and  hod-carriers  were  briskly  at  work,  and  by 
the  time  the  primroses  peeped  under  the  hawthorn 
hedge,  and  hill  and  grove  had  resumed  its  foliage,  an 
elegant  school-house  stood  in  all  its  grand  propor 
tions  and  all  its  comfortable  appointments. 

It  wanted  but  two  requisites  to  make  it  perfect — 
a  competent  teacher,  to  whom  the  Misses  Biggs  would 
act  as  assistants  when  so  disposed,  and — sc/iolars. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  rent-day  came  at  last,  for  that  is  called  in 
landlord  parlance.  "  the  spring  gale."  It  was  the 
25th  of  March,  which  every  Christian  knows  is  the 
feast  of  the  Annunciation,  and  which  all  the  Tin 
man  ogne  tenantry  knew  was  a  holiday  of  obligation, 
even  if  the  bell  from  the  now  leafless  branches  of 
the  elm-tree  had  held  its  tongue  that  day — a  crime 
which  could  not  be  laid  to  its  charge,  for  its  clear, 
sharp  tones  were  carried  by  the  March  wind  through 
every  glen  and  ravine  of  the  hills  around. 

After  Mass  their  venerable  pastor  read  the  gospel 
of  the  day,  and  took  occasion  from  it  to  remark  on 
the  life  of  sorrow,  poverty  and  suffering  which 
their  dear  Lord  had  endured  on  this  earth  to  pur 
chase  for  them  the  joys  of  heaven.  He  reminded 
them  how  sufferings  have  ever  been  the  portion  of 
the  elect,  and  if  borne  with  that  patience  and  resig 
nation  of  which  their  adorable  Lord  set  them  the 
example  and  united  with  His  bitter  passion,  they 
would  assuredly  bring  them  all  face  to  face  with 
their  Divine  Redeemer,  who  would  receive  them  iu 


THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        113 

His  sacred  arms  and  give  them  a  crown  of  glory  for 
ever  more,  in  lieu  of  the  short  afflictions  of  this  mis 
erable  world. 

A  similar  discourse  was  preached  bj  Father 
O'Tool  to  those  residing  on  the  townland  of  Grlen- 
goulah,  in  the  little  chapel  of  ease  at  tho  top  of  the 
hill,  and  happy  was  it  for  those  docile  children  of 
the  Church  that  their  ears  and  hearts  were  open  to 
receive  those  sacred  truths  from  the  lips  of  their 
pastors;  for  Almighty  God,  pleased  with  their  ardent 
faith  and  profound  resignation,  distilled  into  their 
hearts  the  dew  of  His  Divine  grace,  and  gave  them 
strength  to  bear  up  with  fortitude  against  the  many 
severe  trials  which  were  before  them. 

After  Mass  the  men  all  repaired,  as  was  their  cus 
tom  on  that  day,  to  the  oJJfice  of  Mr.  De  Courcy. 
where,  as  each  paid  his  rent  and  got  his  receipt,  that 
gentleman  requested  him  to  remain  a  few  minutes, 
as  he  had  something  to  say. 

When  business  was  over  and  all  had  assembled, 
Mr.  De  Courcy  assured  them  it  was  with  the  utmost 
reluctance  he  had  to  inform  all  those  whose  leases  had 
expired,  or  were  about  to  expire,  that  their  present 
landlord,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Wilson  Biggs,  had  come 
to  the  determination  of  raising  their  rents  25  per 
cent.,  or  one-fourth  more  than  they  were  now  paying. 


THE    BYRNES    OF    GLENGOUL.AH. 

A  murmur  of  discontent  ran  through  the  crowd, 
and  many  were  about  to  remonstrate  and  put  in  their 
special  claims  to  consideration,  but  Mr.  De  Courcy, 
waving  his  hand  for  silence,  all  was  still. 

He  said,  "  My  friends,  you  cannot  possibly  hear 
this  news  with  more  pain  than  it  gives  me  to  tell  it; 
nor  can  you  urge  any  claim  or  make  any  stronger 
remonstrance  against  it  than  I  have  already  done  in 
your  name.  As  long  as  I  hold  the  agency  of  this 
estate  I  am  bound  up  in  your  interests,  both  by  dutj 
and  inclination,  and  I  know  you  will  believe  mr 
when  I  tell  you  that  if  the  fortunes  of  my  owe 
children  hung  upon  my  words  I  could  not  make  a 
more  touching  appeal  than  that  which  I  addressed 
to  the  landlord,  in  order  to  change  his  intentions ; 
but  I  spoke  in  vain.  Hits  only  reply  was,  that  if  any 
of  you  think  his  demand  exorbitant,  he  is  satisfied 
to  take  the  farms  off  your  hands ;  and,  indeed,  he 
said  he  had  persons  already  in  view  who  were  will 
ing  to  pay  the  amount  he  requires.  If  any  of  you 
think  you  can  be  more  successful  than  I  was  by  a 
personal  application,  I  would  be  very  glad  you  would 
try  it.  Those  who  have  no  leases  will  now  under 
stand  they  will  have  to  pay  at  the  advanced  rate 
next  September  gale,  and  all  the  rest  as  the  leases 
drop.  Notices  in  a  legal  form  will  be  sent  round 


THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        115 

to  this  effect.  Mr.  Biggs  has  further  instructed  me 
to  say  that  he  will  not  sign  any  lease  at  present,  even 
at  the  advanced  rate." 

Voices  now  repeated  "  Long  life  to  you,  Mr.  De 
Courcy." 

"  We're  entirely  obleeged  to  you,  sir,  whatever 
way  it  turns." 

"  Sure,  well  we  know  it's  not  your  honor's  fault," 
etc.,  etc. 

A  report  had  reached  them  some  days  before  that 
there  would  be  "  a  rise,"  but  they  never  expected  it 
to  be  so  much  ;  and  above  all  they  did  not  expect  to 
be  left  without  leases. 

One  fine  young  man,  apparently  about  twenty 
years  of  age,  who  had  a  blind  father  and  a  paralyzed 
grandmother  to  support,  now  approached  Mr.  De 
Courcy,  who — concluding  he  was  coming  to  ask 
about  his  lease — said,  "  He  refused  to  sign  your  lease 
amongst  the  rest,  Dempsey." 

"  Oh,  I  suppose  he  did,  sir ;  I  did  not  expect  any 
thing  else.  But  will  your  honor  be  plazed  to  tell  me 
did  he  really  refuse  to  give  a  lase  to  Toney  Byrne  ?" 

"He  did, indeed." 

"  And  did  he  rise  the  rent  on  him,  sir  ?" 

"  He  did." 

"  Well,  boys,"  turning  to  the  other  men,  "  we  may 


116  THE    BYBXES    OF    GLEXGOTJLAH. 

hold  our  tongues  after  that !  Mr.  De  Courcy  ! — I 
beg  your  honor's  pardon,  for  I  know  it's  agin  your 
grain  to  tell  such  news  to  us — but  I  can't  help  say  in' 
that's  the  blackest  piece  of  robbery  ever  was  commit 
ted  in  the  County  "VVicklow.  May  God  defend  us  all 
from  harm  this  day  !" 

"  Faix,  its  yourself  is  tillin'  the  truth,  Bryan 
Dempsey." 

"Bedad,  that's  gospel,  anyway." 

"  Och  !  sure  we  ought  to  bo  ashamed  to  spake  of 
ourselves  at  all,  so  we  ought." 

These  sentences  were  uttered  by  several  voices  at 
the  same  time,  while  poor  Toney  stood  like  one 
transfixed.  The  news  of  the  raise  did  not  surprise 
him,  for  Turn  Moody  kept  Kitty  pretty  well  posted 
on  all  such  reports  as  the  wily  Sandy  McGlauren 
thought  fit  to  put  in  circulation  ;  nor  did  Toney  care 
much  for  that,  for  his  rent  was  low,  and  now  that 
he  had  brought  the  land  into  the  highest  state  of 
culti  vation,  he  could  afford  it ;  but  the  refusal  to  sign 
his  lease  was  a  blow  he  never  expected.  He  nev«_r 
spoke  or  stirred  from  the  spot  where  he  stood  till 
Bryan  Dempsey,  grasping  his  hand,  drew  him  into 
the  avenue,  where  all  his  neighbors  came  flocking 
around  him  to  sympathize  with  "  one  of  the  ould 
stack,"  forgetting  their  own  sorrows  in  the  greater 


THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        117 

one  of  the  lawful  heir  of  Glengoulah.  Poor  Toney 
went  home  to  Kitty  and  the  children  with  sad  news 
and  a  sad  heart.  For  the  first  time  in  his  life  he 
was  utterly  sunk  and  depressed.  Always  hopeful 
until  now,  he  had  accustomed  himself  to  look  at  the 
bright  side  of  everything,  but  he  had  never  known 
before  what  it  was  to  be  dependent  upon  the  will  of 
a  landlord,  and  he  felt  that  the  spirit  of  the  Byrnes 
was  broken  at  last.  Still,  Toney  was  a  Christian, 
and  high  above  his  sorrows  arose  his  resignation  to 
the  Divine  will ;  therefore,  though  his  heart  was 
troubled  and  his  head  bowed,  he  would  say  :  "  It's 
no  fault  of  ours,  so  welkim  be  the  will  of  God." 

It  was  plain  to  Kitty  that  with  all  his  resignation 
the  light  was  gone  from  his  heart,  and  like  a  true 
woman  she  pretended  to  the  greatest  hope  and  cour 
age. 

"  Tut,  tut,  man  !  Don't  be  a  bit  ateared.  If  we 
have  no  law  itself,  he  won't  put  us  out  while  we  pay 
our  rent  regularly  and  manage  the  farm  right.  May 
be  he's  only  waitin'  to  see  what  kind  of  people  we  are  ; 
and  when  he  knows  us  better  he  won't  be  so  black. 
I'm  thinkin'  he  wouldn't  be  so  bad  if  it  wasn't  for 
that  ould  Sandy  McGiauren.  I'm  sure  he  puts  wick 
edness  in  his  head.  Well,  God  is  good  anyway,  and 
He'll  bring  us  through  if  all  the  divils  in  hell  was 


118        THE  BYKNLB  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

after  us — the  cross  of  Christ  be  about  us,  and  the 
protection  of  His  Blessed  Mother !  Amen  !  "  and 
Kitty  crossed  herself  and  made  an  attempt  at  a  gen 
uflexion,  which  was  a  duck  down  and  a  scrape  of 
the  left  foot  behind.  When  Toney  was  full  of  hope 
eix  months  ago,  before  the  landlord  arrived,  Kitty 
was  in  despair,  and  could  see  no  gleam  of  hope 
whatever ;  and  now,  in  a  sort  of  affectionate  contra 
diction,  because  Toney  was  depressed,  her  hopes 
arose.  We  have  seen  how  she  teased  her  husband 
night  and  day  until  they  visited  Father  Esmond. 
She  now  proposed  another  visit  to  him  for  consola 
tion,  but  Toney  decidedly  refused  to  trouble  his  rev 
erence  any  more  with  his  affairs.  After  time  had  a 
little  blunted  the  first  keen  edge  of  his  troubles  he 
worked  away  cheerfully  as  ever  to  all  appearance  ; 
and  since  his  self-reliant  spirit  prevented  him  from 
intruding  his  sorrows  on  his  pastor,  that  old  pastor 
himself,  accompanied  by  his  curate,  Father  O'Tool, 
drove  up  in  his  gig  to  pay  a  visit  of  condolence  to 
Toney  and  his  family.  Poor  Father  Esmond  was 
Badly  grieved  for  the  position  in  which  Toney  was 
placed ;  he  told  Mr.  De  Courcy,  the  day  he  visited 
the  mills,  that  he  was  confident  Toney  Byrne  would 
be  treated  with  more  harshness  than  any  of  the  ten 
an  try  by  Biggs,  just  because  he  was  the  rightfu1 


THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOCLAH.        119 

owner  of  Glengoulah  Castle.  Like  all  vulgar  up 
starts,  Biggs  would  hate  the  idea  of  coining  in  contact 
with  a  man  whose  appearance  constantly  reminded 
him  that  he  himself  was  but  an  usurper.  Mr.  De 
Courcy  was  of  the  same  opinion. 

Now,  however,  Father  Esmond  spoke  hopefully, 
and  begged  Toney  not  to  lose  heart  whatever  he  did. 

Father  O'Tool  told  them  so  many  droll  anec 
dotes  that  they  were  in  roars  of  laughter  before  half 
an  hour  passed.  The  very  sight  of  this  fine  young 
priest — who  was  said  to  be  a  lineal  descendant  of 
the  far-famed  royal  O'Tools  of  Glendalough — was 
enough  to  revive  the  most  depressed. 

He  was  in  appearance  "every  inch  a  king." 
Twenty-eight  years  old,  six  feet  three  "without  his 
boots,"  and  made  in  proportion ;  his  dark-brown  hair 
fell  in  shining  masses  on  a  noble  forehead  of  alabaster 
whiteness ;  his  eyes,  dark-blue,  were  dancing  with 
boyish  mirth ;  the  nose  was  a  model  for  a  sculptor ; 
the  mouth,  wreathed  in  smiles,  disclosed  rows  of  pear 
ly  teeth,  while  the  cheeks  and  lips  were  tinged  with 
the  bloom  of  a  happy  heart ;  his  carriage  and  whole 
appearance  was  that  of  a  strikingly  handsome, 
noble-looking  man,  and  yet  withal  there  was  a 
simple  expression  of  almost  boyish  fun  and  harm 
less  waggery.  Wherever  Father  O'Tool  went,  there 


120        THE  BTKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

was  sure  to  be  a.  group  of  children  around  him. 
Some  swung  from  his  arms,  others  hung  on  his 

o  /  o 

skirts,  while  his  voice  and  joyous  laughter  were  the 
loudest  in  the  merry  throng. 

With  all  his  frolicsome  ways,  no  one  knew  bet 
ter  how  to  uphold  the  dignity  of  his  sacred  calling, 
and  on  the  altar,  and  in  the  confessional,  there  was 
no  more  zealous  and  impressive  priest.  Gathering 
Toney  Byrne's  youngsters  around  him  he  soon  won 
their  confidence,  and  heard  from  Mike  all  the  jokes 
"Winnie  played  on  Mr  Tobin,  the  schoolmaster; 
and  Father  O'Tool  told  them  in  return  all  the 
pranks  he  used  to  play  in  his  school  days.  After 
they  had  all  laughed  to  their  heart's  content,  he 
questioned  them  on  their  Catechism  and  other 
studies,  and  exhorted  them  to  love  and  obey  their 
parents.  They  were  sober  as  judges  in  a  moment, 
for  every  child  in  the  parish  knew  Father  O'Tool's 
habits  well :  he  would  be  as  a  child  amongst  good 
children,  but  he  became  stern  as  a  lion  with  a  sulky 
or  disobedient  child ;  and  thus,  though  they  loved 
him  dearly,  they  very  much  feared  him  too.  And 
some  children  of  a  larger  growth  partook  of  the 
same  sentiments  in  his  regard. 

Toney  and  his  wife  were  highly  delighted  with 
the  kindness  of  the  good  priests  in  trying  to  lighten 


THE  BYKNE8  OF  GLENGOULAH.         121 

the  burden  of  their  trials,  and  this  visit  had  the 
desired  effect.  It  kept  alive  the  lamp  of  hope,  and 
gave  them  heart  to  go  through  their  duties,  which 
sometimes  of  late  became  irksome  as  the  idea  would 
present  itself  to  their  minds  that  a  stranger  might 
be  brought  in  to  reap  the  benefit  of  their  toil.  So 
it  was  with  the  other  tenantry,  the  fellow-sufferers 
of  Toney,  most  of  whom  repaired  to  Father  Esmond, 
asking  his  advice  how  they  should  act,  and  wishing 
to  know  if  his  reverence  would  recommend  them 
to  make  a  personal  application  to  the  landlord. 
They  were  all  prevented  from  doing  so  by  the  priest, 
who  detailed  to  them  the  noble  appeal  made  in 
their  behalf  by  Mr.  De  Courcy,  and  assured  them 
every  such  application  would  be  met  by  insult. 
He  consoled  them  all  he  could,  told  them  to  keep 
quiet  and  go  on  conducting  themselves  properly, 
as  they  had  always  done,  and  thus  they  would  dis 
arm  the  most  malicious  of  their  enemies.  Those 
who  did  not  come  to  him — they  were  but  four,  in 
eluding  Toney  Byrne — he  visited  and  consoled. 

One  only  man  went  to  the  landlord,  contrary  to 
the  advice  of  his  best  friends.  He  was  a  fine,  stout 
fanner,  named  Mat  Doran,  an  upright,  honest  man, 
the  only  support  of  a  blind  father,  who  had  lost  his 
sight  by  a  premature  explosion  in  a  quarry  in  which 


122        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

he  was  working,  and  a  helpless  brother  who  was 
born  an  idiot  the  day  after  the  explosion.  As  Mat 
had  never  injured  a  human  being,  and  had  ever 
nobly  done  his  duty  to  all  around  him,  he  could  not 
be  made  to  believe  that  his  landlord  would  be  so 
unjust,  and  therefore  resolved  to  have  a  talk  with 
him  himself.  Giving  the  knocker  a  single  blow, 
sufficient  to  drive  a  tenpenny  nail  at  least,  the  door 
was  flung  open  by  a  singular  specimen  of  humanity 
dressed  in  black  livery,  with  lace  epauletts  and  a 
powdered  wig.  He  was  not  by  any  means  the  best 
proportioned  man  in  "  that  section  of  country,"  as 
a  Yankee  would  say,  having  a  rotund  corporation 
and  very  slim  supporters,  set  off  in  fine  black  silken 
hose,  and  low  shoes  with  ponderous  silver  buckles. 
The  creature  was  further  adorned  with  blear  eyes 
and  a  very  sallow  complexion. 

Upon  Mat  Doran  stating  that  he  wanted  to  see 
Mr.  Biggs,  his  landlord,  upon  some  business  relating 
to  his  farm,  the  powdered  lacquey  stared  at  him 
with  his  blear  eyes  in  the  utmost  amazement.  "  Go 
and  tell  him  acushla,"  says  Mat,  "  for  the  horses  is 
waitin'  for  me  in  the  field."  The  footman  gruffly 
slammed  the  door,  leaving  the  farmer  standing  out 
side. 

In  a  few  minutes  he  returned  with  word  that  the 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        123 

Rev.  Mr.  Biggs  never  held  conversation  with  his 
tenantry.  He  had  employed  an  agent  for  that  pur 
pose,  Mr.  De  Courcy,  of  the  Cascade  Mills,  and  to 
him  he  should  apply.  This  message  was  delivered 
with  all  the  insolence  which  could  be  displayed  by 
a  pampered  menial.  Mat  Doran,  who  had  a  largo 
amount  of  waggery  in  his  composition,  was  deter 
mined  to  have  a  little  fun  if  he  had  no  justice  ;  he 
accordingly  stepped  into  the  hall,  stuck  his  head 
one  side,  and  putting  his  arms  on  his  brawny  hips, 
inspected  admiringly  the  scanty  supporters  in  the 
black-silk  hose,  and  then  the  powdered  wig.  "  Beau 
tiful  !  beautiful !  "  exclaimed  Mat.  "  I  declare  to 
my  Kitty,  but  it  makes  one  strong  to  see  such  a  fine 
pair  of  legs.  What  do  you  feed  your  calves  on,  allan- 
nah  ?  Upon  my  conscience  I'd  like  to  have  the  re- 
sate,  for  they're  the  thrivin'  pair  intirely  ;  you  ought 
to  send  them  to  the  next  cattle  show,  and  you'll  be 
sure  to  get  the  pramitim  !  " 

The  man  with  the  limited  understandings  was  in 
a  rage,  and  cried,  "  Begone,  you  insulting  fellow !  " 
But  he  took  care  to  draw  back  from  the  dangerous 
looking  fists  of  the  stout  farmer.  "  Aisey  !  avic ; 
aisey !"  cried  the  tantalizing  Mat.  "  If  you  move  too, 
fast  you'll  crack  your  legs  acrass,  and  sure  that  'id 
be  the  sin  of  the  world,  so  it  would,  for  they're 


124        THE  BYKNE8  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

the  very  shape  for  all  the  world  of  a  decayed 
jackass." 

"  Begone,  fellow !  I  say,  instantly !"  Mat  now  burst 
into  a  guffaw  of  a  laugh,  and  made  the  halls  of  the 
castle  re-echo  with  his  merriment.  "  May  the  divil 
fly  away  wid  the  man  that  brought  you  to  Wickla  ; 
anyway  he  had  a  cruel  taste  for  music.  Is  that  the 
kind  of  a  shape  yiz  have  in  England?  That  I 
mightn't  sin,  but  if  we  had  such  a  beauty  as  you 
born  in  Ireland  we'd  make  a  fortune  exhibiting  him. 
Good  mornin',  avourneen  !  "  And  Mat  walked  out 
leisurely,  laughing  vociferously. 

This  harmless  raillery  afterwards  cost  poor  Mat 
Doran  his  farm,  and  threw  himself  and  all  he  loved 
ou  the  world. 


CHAPTER  X. 

MAY  "  was  treading  close  upon  the  heels  "  of  June 
•when  the  school-house  was  completed.  The  Rev 
erend  Samuel  Wilson  Biggs,  taking  counsel  with  his 
sisters,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  would  be 
scarcely  sale  to  spend  some  hours  a  day  in  a  build 
ing  erected  so  recently ;  and  besides,  being  so  near 
July,  the  vacation  time,  it  would  not  be  worth  while 
to  open  the  school  until  autumn.  It  was  therefore 
agreed  to  spend  the  summer  hunting  up  the  right 
sort  of  teachers  at  the  lowest  rate  of  remuneration. 

The  building  of  the  church  was  progressing  rap 
idly  also,  and  was  expected  to  be  ready  for  service 
before  winter,  to  the  great  delight  of  Mr.  Job 
Scruggins — the  blear-eyed  man  with  the  limited  un 
derstandings — who  declared  "  it  was  perfectly  un- 
endoorable  fora  gemman  to  hascend  these  orful  'igh 
'ills  every  Sunday,  not  to  speak  of  the  natooral  dis 
gust  a  refined  pusson  must  feel  meeting  so  many 
low  Hirish." 

The  fact  was,  Job  found  it  no  easy  task  to  pre 
serve  his  equilibrium  standing  behind  the  carriage 


125        THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

going  over  Cascade  Hill,  and  as  he  swung  from  one 
foot  to  another,  in  order  to  balance  himself,  laugh 
ing  faces  peeped  at  him  from  cottage  doors  or 
mountain  bye-paths,  and  some  joke  would  be  per 
petrated  at  the  expense  of  his  undeveloped  perpen 
diculars.  As  Mr.  Job  Scruggins  did  not  resemble 
his  namesake  in  patience,  he  shook  his  silver- 
mounted  pole  at  the  delinquents  in  a  very  threaten 
ing  manner,  a  proceeding  which  was  repaid  by  a 
shout  of  derisive  laughter  from  a  group  of  merry 
urchins  who  followed  the  carriage,  and  one  of 
whom — to  show  his  particular  appreciation  of  the 
fun — always  threw  his  legs  into  the  air  and  walked 
several  yards  on  his  hands,  head  downwards — an 
accomplishment  which  he  had  brought  to  great  per 
fection  by  constant  practice. 

During  the  summer  the  Misses  Biggs  called  in 
their  carriage  at  all  the  laborers'  cottages,  to  ascer 
tain  the  number  of  children  in  each,  and  to  bear  to 
the  hitherto  benighted  parents  the  joyful  intelligence 
that  "they  would  soon  have  an  opportunity  of  hav 
ing  their  children  educated,  as  their  considerate 
landlord,  ever  anxious  for  their  welfare,  both  here 
and  hereafter,  had  actually  built  a  school-house  for 
their  use,  and  was  about  employing  a  male  and  a 
female  teacher  to  impart  useful  knowledge.1' 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        127 

Exchanging  looks  of  commiseration  for  these 
ignorant  peasants,  the  ladies  drew  sighs  of  profound 
regret  when  they  found  not  one  single  parent  pre 
pared  to  rejoice  at  the  good  fortune  in  store  for 
them. 

Some  seemed  to  turn  pale  at  the  news.  Some 
said  their  children  went  to  school  to  Tinmanogue, 
others  to  Ardmore ;  others  again  thought  their  chil 
dren  too  small  yet ;  some  could  not  spare  them 
from  home,  etc.,  etc.  On  the  fourth  day  of  their 
unsuccessful  canvass,  on  return  to  the  castle,  Miss 
Hachael  expressed  her  dissatisfaction  by  declaring 
she  never  met  such  unthankful  people  -in  her  life. 
It  was  her  positive  conviction  they  were  not  a  bit 
pleased  to  have  such  a  splendid  chance  to  educate 
their  children.  She  would  not  be  surprised  now  if 
they  would  prefer  keeping  them  at  home,  or  send 
ing  them  to  those  old  villages  with  the  odious  names. 
Both  sisters  laughed  contemptuously  at  such  schools, 
"  where  the  pupils  are  taught  nothing  but  to  wor 
ship  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  adore  images." 

Miss  Biggs,  in  the  excess  of  charity,  checked  her 
scorn  and  reprimanded  her  sister:  "  My  dear  Rachael, 
we  must  have  pity  on  those  ignorant  creatures, 
bearing  in  mind  how  much  the  Lord  hath  favored 
our  happy  country,  where  the  blessings  of  His  word 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH. 

are  so  liberally  dispensed,  and  where  the  population 
walketh  in  righteousness.  Let  ns  not  despair  if  our 
footsteps  are  as  jet  unmarked  by  success.  We  can 
afford  to  watch  and  wait.  You  know  it  is  written, 
"  For  the  Lord  hath  built  up  Zion,  and  he  shall  be 
seen  in  His  glory."  It  is  a  great  mark  of  the  mercies 
of  the  Lord  that  he  hath  vouchsafed  to  put  these 
unfortunate  people  into  the  safe  keeping  of  so  godly 
a  man  as  our  reverend  brother,  and  we  must  even 
try  to  arouse  him  to  use  his  temporal  as  well  as 
spiritual  authority  in  such  a  sanctified  cause.  Be 
not  daunted,  my  sister ;  let  us  go  with  refreshened 
hearts  to  the  good  work  on  to-morrow  again.  Hith 
erto  we  have  visited  only  the  cottages  of  the  labor 
ers;  let  us  now  try  the  farm-houses,  and  see  what 
success  we  maj'  have  amongst  those  of  the  tenantry 
who  have  no  leases.  I  fear  me  we  would  make  but  lit 
tle  impression  on  those  who  are  as  yet  independent  of 
our  reverend  brother,  for  these  are  a  stiff-necked 
people. " 

"  Well,  sister,  I  will  chasten  my  spirit  and  accom 
pany  you,  for  your  feet  seem  ever  to  run  in  the  path 
of  the  Lord." 

And  so  day  after  day  the  carriage  was  winding 
through  the  hills,  ever  and  anon  stopping  at  tha 
white  farm-houses  with  the  trailing  vines 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        120 

The  personal  appearance  of  these  elderly  youn$ 
ladies,  barring  their  rich  dresses,  was  by  no  means 
prepossessing ;  but  were  they  as  beautiful  as  Venus, 
it  would  be  all  the  same  to  the  Glengoulah  tenantry. 
The  bare  sight  of  them  brought  heavy  grief  to  many 
a  once  happy  hearth.  Well  they  now  knew  why 
their  leases  were  withheld,  and  in  terror  and  dismay 
.they  fled  to  their  loved  pastor  for  consolation.  Poor 
Father  Esmond  wept  with  them,  for  he  saw  at  a 
glance  the  whole  map  of  persecution  laid  before 
them,  and  he  could  but  point  to  the  cross,  and  ex 
hort  them  to  have  courage  and  patience. 

"My  poor,  poor  children!"  he  would  say,  while 
tears  coursed  each  other  down  his  venerable  face, 
"  remember  the  eighth  Beatitude  :  '  Blessed  are  they 
who  suffer  persecution  for  justice  sake,  for  theirs  is 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.'  These  are  the  words  of 
our  Blessed  Redeemer  himself,  and  He  wont  de 
ceive  you.  This  life  is  but  short  after  all,  my  dear 
people,  and  soon,  oh !  soon  we  shall  all  meet  in  our 
own  Kingdom ;  just  think  of  that.  Your  dear  Saviour 
tells  you  that  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  yours! 
and  the  Blessed  Mother  and  holy  saints  will  be  your 
companions!  and  the  choirs  of  angels  your  musi 
cians  !  and  God  himself  your  most  loving  Father 
who  will  nourish  and  cherish  you.  for  ever  more  I" 


130        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLEXGOULAH. 

Then  there  would  be  sobs  and  tears  of  joy  and 
sorrow  commingled,  until  some  half-despairing  moth 
er  would  say : 

"  Oh,  Father,  honey  !  I  could  bear  anything  my 
self;  but  what  will  I  do  with  my  poor  children?" 
And  then  there  would  be  a  chorus  of  mothers  sob 
bing  in  sympathy.  Thus  did  this  pretended  minis 
ter  of  the  gentle  and  merciful  Jesus  bring  wailing 
and  desolation  to  the  homes  of  those  simple,  virtu 
ous  people. 

On  the  feast  of  the  Assumption  of  our  Blessed 
Lady,  August  loth,  Father  O'Tool  preached  a  most 
eloquent  discourse  to  the  tenantry  in  the  little  moun 
tain  chapel  of  Glengoulah.  It  was  on  a  Wednesday, 
and  the  Biggs  school  was  to  be  opened  the  follow 
ing  Monday — a  notice  to  that  effect  having  been 
sent  to  all  the  farm-houses.  Everybody  was  anxious 
to  hear  what  the  zealous  young  curate  had  to  say  on 
the  subject,  for  they  knew  he  would  be  sure  to  give 
it  his  earnest  attention  ;  therefore  the  gathering  was 
unusually  large,  many  coming  from  the  townland  of 
Tinmanogue  and  the  adjoining  parish  of  Ardmore. 
It  was  a  pleasing  sight  to  see  groups  of  people 
wending  their  way  by  so  many  different  roads  up 
the  hill  to  the  picturesque  little  chapel  which  peeped 
out  at  them  from  a  grove,  and  seemed  to  smile  a 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        131 

welcome  as  its  little  painted  cross  glittered  in  the 
sunlight. 

Most  of  the  men,  the  young  ones  in  particular, 
wore  blue  body  coats  with  bright  brass  buttons, 
yellow  or  light-colored  vests,  gray  neckties,  and  well- 
brushed  "  Caroline  hats,"  breeches  of  white  or  drab 
corduroy,  from  the  knee  of  which  a  knot  of  the 
same  colored  ribbon  flattered  in  the  breeze,  while 
the  well-greased  pumps  and  spotless  woollen  stock 
ings  showed  off  the  arched  instep  and  splendidly 
developed  calves  to  perfection. 

The  women  vied  with  each  other  in  bright  man 
tles  glorying  in  hoods  of  quilted  silk,  and  substantial 
looking  bonnets  of  beaver  with  gay  ribbons,  while 
many  of  the  young  maidens  wore  large  hats  with 
flying  ribbons,  after  the  fashion  of  their  Welch 
neighbors  across  the  channel. 

Families  who  lived  at  a  distance  came  in  the  well- 
known  low-backed  car.  Very  many  of  the  farmers' 
wives  rode  on  pillions  behind  their  husbands. 
Some  of  the  Catholic  gentry  and  wealthy  farmers, 
also  shop-keepers  from  Ardinore,  came  in  jaunting 
cars  and  gigs,  but  the  greater  number  were  pedes 
trians.  It  was  amusing  to  watch  some  country 
swain  showing  off  his  horsemanship,  the  chargei 
being  unable  to  alter  from  a  sling  trot  if  it  cost  him 


132        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

his  life,  while  his  rider  rose  and  fell  in  the  saddle, 
very  much  to  his  own  satisfaction,  until  he  gained 
the  side  of  a  group  of  pedestrians,  in  the  centre  of 
whom  was  a  rural  belle  equally  celebrated  for  her 
beauty  and  her  coquetry.  It  was  quite  plain,  from 
the  smile  on  her  lip,  that  she  knew  perfectly  well 
who  was  reining  up  close  beside  her,  but  she  was 
pay;'ng  such  profound  attention  to  the  conversation 
of  a  sober-looking  young  man  who  walked  with  her 
that  she  never  once  turned  around  until  the  head  of  the 
steed,  peeping  over  her  shoulder,  made  her  give  the 
prettiest  little  start  and  exclamation  of  surprise. 

Just  at  this  juncture  a  large  open  carriage  dashed 
by,  containing  four  finely-dressed  ladies  and  two 
ditto  gentlemen,  not  forgetting  the  fat  coachman 
and  another  burly  looking  gentleman  sitting  beside 
him,  dressed  in  black,  with  a  blue  satin  cravat,  in 
which  were  jauntily  stuck  two  gold  pins  with  enor 
mous  heads,  resembling  the  Lord  Mayor's  mace, 
and  both  fastened  together  by  a  slender  gold  chain. 
The  left  hand  was  partly  hidden  in  a  canary-colored 
kid  glove,  while  the  right  was  uncovered  for  the 
evident  purpose  of  displaying  a  couple  of  heavy 
rings ;  and  from  the  upper  vest  pocket  to  the  button 
hole,  back  again  to  the  lower  pocket,  and  then  for  a 
quarter  of  a  yard  down,  hung  dangling  a  massive 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        133 

chain,  thick  enough  for  fetters,  at  the  termination  of 
which  was  a  bunch  of  seals  and  keys  the  size  of  a 
kitten's  head.  The  two  gentlemen  seated  in  the 
carriage  were  similarly  attired,  and  sat  with  their 
knees  touching  each  other  on  the  outward  rim  of 
the  cushion  to  accommodate  the  four  ladies,  who 
reclined  back,  for  the  double  purpose  of  seeming  at 
their  perfect  ease  and  to  make  the  carriage  hold 
six,  whereas  it  was  lawfully  intended  for  four.  One 
of  the  ladies  was  an  elderly  female  of  rotund  figure, 
good-looking,  and  dressed  as  became  a  staid  matron  ; 
while  the  three  young  ones  were  bedizened  in  silks, 
laces,  and  jewelry,  and  were  nearly  in  convulsions 
of  laughter  at  the  costume  of  the  peasantry. 

"I  do  wish  you  would  not  giggle  so,  Beckey," 
said  the  matron  to  the  youngest  of  the  ladies,  who 
sat  opposite  to  her ;  "  I  know,  to  be  sure,  the  dress  of 
these  here  country  people  is  wery  haggrawatin',  but 
then  we  must  not  forget  the  big  gulf  of  difference  as 
lies  'atween  us,  seein'  'ow  we  'ad  the  hadwantage 
of  residin'  from  birth  in  a  civilized  country,  while 
these  here  poor  creeturs  never  seen  nothink  but  bar 
barism." 

"Well,  mother,  I  can't  help  a  larfin'  to  save  my 
life.  Just  look  at  that  old  'oman  'oldin  on  be'ind  the 
man  on  'orse  back,  with  a  beaver  bonnet  and  cloth 


THE   BYKXE3    OF    GLEXGOULAH. 

mantle  of  a  'ot  day  in  Hawgust ;  if  she  wouldn't 
make  a  dog  larf  I'll  never  say  nothink  again." 

"Oh,  dear!  I  shall  die  of  merriment;  I  know  I 
shall ;"  said  another  of  the  young  ladies,  who  had 
been  gracefully  occupied  during  this  conversation 
in  stuffing  a  cambric  handkerchief  into  her  mouth. 

"I  shall  'ate  merriment  for  nevermore  if  you  do," 
remarked  the  young  gentleman  beside  her,  giving 
her  a  nudge  with  his  elbow,  and  trying  to  look  ten 
derly  under  her  bonnet. 

"  Keep  your  sharp  helbows  to  yourself,  Mr.  Scrug- 
gins,"  cried  the  offended  young  lady,  with  an  assump 
tion  of  great  dignity. 

"  I  didn't  mean  hany  hoffence,  Miss  Jenkins,"  re 
plied  the  accused  ;  "  you  are  really  too  hicy  cold  to 
an  'art  what  hadores  you."  Another  nudge  and  ten 
der  glance  followed  this  speech. 

"  Keep  your  protestations  for  them  as  values  them, 
for  I  don't."  And  she  cast  a  look  of  pitiful  contempt 
on  the  young  lady  opposite,  who  seemed  to  be  carry 
ing  on  with  great  gusto  a  flirtation  with  her  neigh 
bor,  and  smiling  her  best  at  the  young  fanners  as 
they  passed. 

"  'Old  your  tongues  now,  all  on  you  ;  'ere  we  are  at 
the  Popish  mass  'ouse,  and  hif  they  see  hany  of  us 
a  larfin'  they  wont  let  us  hin."  The  last  remark 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLEXGOULAH.        135 

was  made  by  ths  matron  as  the  carriage  came  to  a 
full  stop,  and  the  party,  trying  to  look  very  grave 
and  grand,  alighted. 

Upon  asking  an  old  man  with  a  wooden  leg  and 
crutch  whether  they  might  go  in,  he  shewed  them 
into  a  prominent  seat  on  a  long  bench  near  the  altar- 
rail — a  mark  of  courtesy  to  strangers.  They  imme 
diately  commenced  staring  every  one  who  entered 
the  chapel,  lounging  for  greater  convenience  on  the 
back  of  the  bench,  and  twirling  their  heads  in  every 
direction. 

As  the  congregation  came  in  each  of  them  made 
a  genuflexion,  often  differing  in  form,  and  some  not 
the  most  graceful,  but  all  precious  in  the  sight  of 
God,  for  whose  dear  love  those  faithful  heart?  bowed 
in  lowly  adoration  after  the  fashion  their  simple 
minds  deemed  best.  The  oft-repeated  crossing  and 
genuflexions  were  a  source  of  much  suppressed  mirth 
to  the  strange  party,  but  when  the  priest  carne  out 
in  his  alb,  previous  to  vesting  himself,  followed  by 
the  man  with  the  crutch  carrying  a  bucket  of  holy 
water,  into  which  the  priest  dipped  the  asperges 
and  sprinkled  the  congregation  while  they  remained 
standing,  and  the  crossing  and  genuflexions  were 
repeated,  a  low  titter  might  be  heard,  which  would 
certainly  have  broken  out  and  ended  by  the  expul- 


136        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

sion  of  the  whole  party  from  the  chapel  but  for  the 
frowns  arid  threatening  gestures  of  the  matron,  who 
looked  carving-knives  at  each,  and  shook  her  head 
severely.  This  matron  was  the  housekeeper  of 
Glengoulah  Castle.  The  youngest  of  the  party, 
whom  she  called  "  Beckey,"  was  her  daughter  Re 
becca,  who  assisted  in  her  household  duties.  The 
other  two  young  ladies  were  our  former  fair  acquain 
tances  Miss  Jemima  and  Miss  Amelia  Hopkins.  The 
burly  gentleman  who  sat  beside  the  coachman  was 
Mr.  Selling,  the  head  butler.  The  young  gentle 
man  who  carried  on  the  comfortable  flirtation  with 
Miss  Hopkins  was  Mr.  Tompson,  "  master's  hown 
man;"  and  the  discomfitted  young  gentleman  who 
was  reproved  for  the  sharpness  of  his  elbows,  was 
our  friend  of  the  slender  supporters,  Mr.  Job  Scrug- 
gins,  no  longer  in  velvet  smalls  and  silken  hose, 
with  a  cockade  in  his  hat  and  a  gold-mounted  pole 
in  his  hand — no  longer  trying  to  balance  himself  on 
the  back  of  the  carriage  going  over  "  those  villainous 
'ills,"  but  dressed  like  any  gentleman,  with  long  trou 
sers  of  broadcloth,  and  every  thing  else  to  match,  sit 
ting  inside  the  carriage,  and  bright  eyes  smiling 
around  him —  and  a  fair  chance  to  have  some  fun  at 
the  expense  of  "  the  wild  Hirish,"  now  that  his  up 
rights  were  hidden  from  mortal  vision.  A  holiday 


THE  BYBNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        137 

had  been  given  to  most  of  the  upper  servants  on  the 
condition  of  their  first  visiting  the  Popish  mass 
house,  in  order  to  bring  home  the  pith  of  Father 
O'Tool's  discourse  regarding  the  schools ;  the  re 
mainder  of  the  day  they  might  drive  through  any 
part  of  the  country  they  wished,  and  take  a  cold 
dinner  with  them  if  they  so  desired. 

Accordingly  a  well-filled  hamper  was  fastened  be 
hind  the  carriage,  and  the  party,  nothing  loth,  com 
menced  the  sports  of  the  day  by  inspecting  the  bar 
barous  natives  in  their  house  of  worship. 

Just  as  Father  O'Tool  finished  hearing  some  con 
fessions  in  the  sacristy  he  hearc^  a  man  inquiring 
from  one  of  the  acholytes  if  he  was  disengaged. 
Approaching  the  door  he  saw  Tom  Moody,  who  im 
mediately  pulled  off  his  hat,  and  whispering  behind 
it  said,  "  he  came  to  let  his  reverence  know  that  a 
carriage  had  just  stopped  at  the  chapel  door,  and  a 
whole  set  of  the  servants  from  the  castle  had  gone 
in,  with  the  probable  intention  of  remaining  during 
mass." 

"  Very  good,  Tom ;  I  hope  they  have  got  a  com 
fortable  seat." 

"  The  best  in  the  chapel,  your  reverence." 

"  That's  right.  I  am  glad  they  have  come  ;  eery 
glad,  indeed.  I  hope  they  have  good  men.ories.'* 


138        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

Tom,  making  a  scrape  to  his  reverence,  left  him 
to  vest  and  went  into  the  chapel.  After  the  distri 
bution  of  holy  water  the  Adorable  Sacrifice  com 
menced,  during  which  the  conduct  of  the  castle  peo 
ple  tried  the  patience  of  the  congregation  to  the  ut 
most,  sneering  up  in  their  faces  during  prayer, 
nudging  and  tittering  at  sight  of  beads,  and  staring 
with  ignorant  astonishment  when  the  whole  congre 
gation  were  bowed  almost  to  prostration  at  the  ring 
ing  of  the  consecration  bell. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

AFTER  the  communion  the  priest  turned  around, 
read  the  Gospel  of  the  day,  and  made  a  few  remarks 
on  the  time-honored  festival  of  the  Assumption  of 
our  Blessed  Lady. 

He  then  announced  to  them  that  on  the  Monday 
following  a  school  would  be  opened  by  their  land 
lord,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Wilson  Biggs,  for  the  avowed 
purpose  of  proselytizing  the  children  on  the  estate. 

"  Woe  to  you,  people  of  Glengoulah !  "  said  he, 
"  if,  at  the  bidding  of  any  man — be  he  landlord,  or 
nabob,  or  monarch — woe  to  you !  if  you  place  in 
peril  one  of  those  tender  souls  for  which  your  dear 
Saviour  shed  his  most  precious  blood.  Your  chil 
dren  have  hitherto  been  educated  in  a  manner 
befitting  their  station ;  and,  above  all,  they  have  been 
thoroughly  instructed  in  the  true  faith  of  Christ — 
and  your  venerable  pastor  lias  reason  to  rejoice  in 
his  virtuous  flock.  To  God  be  the  glory  given  ! 
From  this,  His  holy  altar,  I  warn  you  against  the 
wiles  of  the  Serpent.  Remember,  you  are  but  stew 
ards  placed  over  the  souls  of  those  little  ones ;  your 


THE   BYKNES   OF   GLENGOULAH. 

time  in  this  world  is  but  short ;  and  when  you  depart 
hence  and  stand  all  alone,  with  God  alone  as  your 
judge,  where  will  you  hide  from  His  wrath  when 
He  will  demand  from  you  in  a  voice  of  thunder, 
blood  for  blood?  But  why  do  I  speak  thus? 
Surely  I  forget  that  I  am  addressing  the  descendants 
of  heroes !  the  children  of  the  saints !  You  well 
know  that  every  inch  of  the  soil  of  holy  Ireland  is 
watered  by  the  blood  of  her  martyrs,  who  suffered 
every  species  of  torture  the  evil  genius  of  tyrants 
could  invent — the  pitch  cap,  the  triangle,  the  gibbet, 
impaling  upon  spears,  burning  at  the  stake,  tracked 
by  blood-hounds,  hunted  like  wolves,  and  starved 
by  an  artificial  famine ;  but  they  nobly  suifered  all 
and  preserved  to  their  descendants  the  priceless 
inheritance  of  the  true  faith  !  It  is  not  you — faithful 
children  of  those  martyred  heroes ! — it  is  not  you  who 
will  sell  for  a  mess  of  such  pitiful  pottage  this  mag 
nificent  inheritance  !  this  grand  old  faith  !  which  has 
stood  unchanged  for  more  than  eighteen  hundred 
years.  Tell  your  landlord,  or  his  messengers,  that 
in  all  that  relates  to  the  payment  of  his  just  demands, 
you  will  obey  him  ;  but  you  will  not  send  your  chil 
dren  to  his  schools.  You  don't  want  his  interference 
in  your  family  affairs,  and  you  will  have  none  of  it. 
Commit  no  breach  of  the  peace ;  but  let  him  under 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        141 

stand,  once  for  all,  that  he  is  exceeding  the  bounds 
of  his  duty,  and  that  as  you  are  not  exceeding  yours 
you  will  feel  obliged  if  he  will  keep  to  his.  It  is 
quite  too  much  for  you  to  support  a  church  in  which 
you  have  no  faith;  but  to  resign  to  its  ministers  the 
education  of  your  children  is  beyond  all  endurance, 
and  neither  you  nor  your  pastors  will  permit  it." 

Much  more  he  said,  and  in  more  eloquent  lan 
guage  than  can  be  remembered  after  such  a  lapse  of 
time.  Nearly  the  whole  congregation  were  in  tears, 
and  those  who  were  independent  of  the  landlord 
were  burning  with  indignation  at  his  conduct. 
Mass  was  finished  and  the  congregation  dispersed ; 
some  to  their  homes,  some  to  the  houses  of  acquaint 
ances  in  the  neighborhood ;  while  many  groups  of 
men,  reclining  against  the  ditches  or  sitting  in  the 
grass,  held  consultation  together  over  the  sad  aspect 
of  the  future.  Seated  in  the  centre  of  the  largest 
of  those  groups  was  an  old  man  with  a  wooden  leg 
and  a  crutch,  who  seemed  to  be  relating  something 
of  great  interest  to  his  auditors,  as  many  who  at  first 
reclined  on  one  elbow  now  sat  upright,  and  leaning 
their  chins  on  their  hands  gazed  eagerly  in  his 
face,  now  and  then  giving  vent  to  exclamations  of 
surprise,  pleasure,  or  anger,  as  their  feelings  moved 
them. 


142  THE   BYRNES    OF    GLENGOULAII. 

"  See  that,  now !  "Well,  glory  be  to  God ;  but 
that's  fine  all  out!" 

"  Bravo,  Jerry  !  be  gor  its  true  for  yees.  Oh,  the 
divil  sweep  the  whole  crew  of  them  !  Sure  its  well 
we  know  it's  not  what's  right  they're  studyin'." 

"  What's  right  enagh  ?  No  I  but  it's  plottin'  how 
they  can  circumvint  the  poor,  they  are,  all  day  long." 

"  But  the  brazen-faced  lies  of  them  is  what  kills 
me :  callin'  every  other  nation  despots  and  them 
selves  lovers  of  liberty." 

"  Oh,  the  lyin'  divils !  Sure  they  couldn't  tell  the 
truth  if  they  tried,  so  they  couldn't." 

This  wooden-legged  old  man  was  Jerry  O'Hara, 
who  had  served  many  years  in  the  British  army  as 
an  artillery-man,  had  been  all  through  the  Peninsu 
lar  war,  and  had  finally  lost  a  leg  at  Waterloo,  for 
which  he  received  a  pension,  and  lived  comfortably 
in  his  native  village  of  Ardmore.  Having  little  to 
occupy  his  time,  "  Lame  Jerry,"  as  he  was  usually 
called,  spent  most  of  his  time  reading ;  and,  having 
a  retentive  memory,  he  was  a  perfect  oracle  among 
the  peasantry,  and  an  ever  welcome  visitor  to  their 
firesides. 

Although  a  most  faithful  soldier  when  in  service, 
now  that  he  was  out  of  it  Jerry  was  accustomed  to 
deliver  his  opinions  very  freely  on  the  short-comings 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        143 

of  the  Government,  and  especially  the  abominable 
laws  relating  to  landlord  and  tenant,  and  the  odious 
Church  Establishment. 

In  order  to  strengthen  his  arguments  Jerry  hunted 
up  every  work  which  treated  on  the  subject  of  land 
tenures  in  all  the  countries  of  Europe,  and  was  quite 
familiar  with  the  modes  of  tillage,  the  products,  and 
particularly  the  relative  positions  of  landlord  and 
tenant  in  France,  Italy,  Switzerland,  and  Germany. 
On  the  occasion  in  question  he  was  detailing  to  his 
listeners,  in  a  high-flown  strain  of  eloquence,  the 
condition  of  the  serfs  in  Russia,  which  he  had  been 
making  his  study  of  late,  and  contrasting  them  with 
the  Irish  peasantry  under  the  free  and  enlightened 
British  Government.  "  The  -Russian  serf,"  said  Lame 
Jerry — laying  down  the  case  on  the  palm  of  his  left 
hand  with  the  two  forefingers  of  his  right — "  the 
Russian  serf  is  elevated  far  in  condition  beyond  the 
Irish  peasant.  He  never  experienced  the  bitterness 
of  beggary.  In  his  days  of  misfortune  he  has  not 
suffered  the  agony  of  choosing  between  the  alterna 
tive  of  being  separated  from  every  tie  of  affection, 
which  is  next  to  death,  or  of  dying  of  starvation. 
The  serfs  wife  is  his  wife,  and  he  can  keep  his  vowa 
to  her  as  God  has  willed  it.  The  serfs  children  are 
his  children,  and  he  can  watch  over  them  from  child- 


THE    BYRNES    OF    GLENGOULAK. 

hood  to  manhood."  (Jerry  was  probably  alluding 
to  the  cruel  separation  of  husband  and  wife,  parents 
and  children,  in  the  Government  poor-houses  in  Ire 
land.) 

;'  In  all  Russia  there  is  not  a  single  work-house, 
a  single  poor-law  board,  or  a  single  pauper.  The 
cow  of  the  Russian  serf  is  never  distrained  for 
rent  or  taxes.  The  cabin  of  the  Russian  serf  is 
never  thrown  down  unless  another  is  built  in  its 
stead.  If  he  is  prostrated  by  sickness,  he  is  cared 
and  tended  at  the  cost  of  the  lord  of  the  soil.  If 
murrain  destroys  his  cattle,  or  a  bad  season  blights 
his  harvest,  the  noble  has  to  replace  his  stock  or 
sow  his  land.  The  serf  pays  no  county  cess,  or 
poor  rate,  or  income  tax  ;  nothing  but  his  obiok  or 
head  rent.  For  this  the  proprietor  gives  up  his 
domain  to  the  serfs  for  cultivation  and  management. 
For  this  he  is  accountable  for  their  losses  and  for 
their  support  in  sickness  and  in  age.  And  those 
people  are  called  serfs,  and  their  monarch  a  despot ! 
And  what  do  you  think,  but  the  present  emperor 
is  trying  his  best  to  free  them  even  from  the  name  of 
serfs,  and  give  them  a  right  to  the  land  for  ever,  to 
be  purchased  by  them  in  fee  simple,  if  they  desire 
to  do  so,  by  installments.  Now  contrast  this  coun 
try  with  Russia,  and  see  the  difference  !  You  will 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH.  14:5 

find  the  welfare  of  the  people  the  study  of  the  sove 
reign  in  Russia ;  but  show  me  where  you  ever 
found  the  welfare  of  the  Irish  people  an  object  of 
solicitude  to  an  English  monarch  ?  Even  the  welfare 
of  the  English  people  is  a  matter  of  little  anxiety 
to  them.  In  the  city  of  London,  where  the  mon 
arch  resides,  there  is  more  poverty  than  in  the  whole 
of  the  Russian  empire !  The  whole  aim  of  the  British 
Government  has  ever  been  to  oppress  the  Irish  people 
and  squeeze  out  of  them  the  last  shilling ;  and  yet 
their  newspapers  are  ever  lauding  the  glorious 
British  constitution,  and  they  are  particularly  elo 
quent  when  they  come  to  denounce  the  shocking 
despotism  of  the  Russian  Czar  !  So  I  lay  it  down  as 
a  fact  that  can  defy  contradiction,  that  Ireland, 
which  God  made  one  of  the  richest  countries  on  the 
face  of  the  earth,  both  in  agricultural  and  mineral 
productions,  is  the  poorest  and  worst  governed  por 
tion  of  the  globe,  under  the  thrice  accursed  British 
•ule."  * 

A  round  of  applause  greeted   these  concluding 
^ntiments,  to  which  every  heart  responded,  when  a 
noise  was  heard  behind  the  ditch  as  of  a  man  leap 
ing  down  and   rustling   amongst  the  hawthorn  to 
disen£^re  himself  from  its  grasp. 

*  Dublin  Irishman. 


14:6  THE   BTENE3   OF   GLENGOULAH. 

One  of  Jerry's  auditors,  a  fine  athletic  young  man, 
catching  the  branch  of  a  crab-apple  tree  which 
inclined  somewhat  to  the  road,  swung  himself  on  to 
the  ditch  and  leaned  over,  just  in  time  to  catch 
the  retreating  figure  of  Sandy  McGlauren.  who  was 
passing  over  a  stile  into  a  neighboring  field.  The 
young  fellow  on  the  ditch,  shaking  his  fist  after  him, 
exclaimed : 

"  That  the  divil  may  come  jumpin'  for  you,  and 
break  every  bone  in  your  body,  for  an  ould  spy  in' 
thief!" 

"Who  is  it,  Darby?" 

"  Arrah !  tell  us  who  it  is,  Darby  ?"  cried  several 
voices,  and  all  started  to  their  feet. 

"  Musha !  "Who  would  it  be  but  that  divil  of  a 
Sandy." 

A  chorus  of  groans  followed  the  announcement, 
and  then  a  volley  of  back-handed  prapers  were 
uttered  in  his  behalf,  many  of  which  consigned  him 
to  a  perpetual  residence  in  a  remarkably  warm  cli 
mate,  not  forgetting  to  request  that  he  should  be 
accompanied  by  his  clerical  master,  as  it  would  be 
a  pity  to  separate  such  a  lovin'  couple ;  more 
betoken  it  would  be  the  sin  of  the  world  to  spoil 
two  houses  with  them. 

Alternately  perpetrating  witticisms,  making  puns, 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        147 

and  praying  backwards,  at  the  expense  of  the  uncon 
scious  Sandy,  the  party,  with  Lame  Jerry  in  the 
centre,  wended  their  way  down  the  mountain  and 
dispersed  to  their  homes.  The  remainder  of  the 
week  was  spent  by  the  Misses  Biggs  in  making  an 
especial  visit  to  the  farm-houses  of  the  "  tenants  at 
will,"  requesting  in  a  most  emphatic  manner  that 
the  will  of  their  reverend  brother  should  be  com 
plied  with  in  sending  their  children  to  the  school  he 
had  established  for  them,  and  to  no  other.  He  ex 
pected  it,  they  said,  and  would  take  no  refusal. 

Monday  came,  however,  and  with  it  came  three 
pupils — all  Protestants.  So,  as  may  be  supposed, 
the  labors  of  the  male  and  female  teachers,  and  the 
Misses  Biggs,  were  not  of  a  very  arduous  character  ; 
indeed,  as  Sain  Weller  would  sajr,  "  it  is  just  possible 
they  could  surwive  it." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  day  before  the  September  gale  (29th)  a  for 
mal  and  very  stiff  note  was  received  by  Mr.  De 
Courcy  from  the  Rev.  Samuel  Wilson  Biggs,  order 
ing  Mr.  De  C,  to  notify  the  tenantry  that  his  rev 
erence  required  each  and  every  one  of  them  to  send 
their  children  to  his  school,  and  he  would  take  no 
excuse.  Mr.  De  Courcy  took  not  the  slightest  no 
tice  of  the  mandate,  and  made  no  observation  what 
ever  relating  to  the  school  to  any  of  the  tenants. 
He  received  their  rents  and  gave  them  their  receipts 
as  usual,  and  they  departed  for  their  homes.  In  a 
few  days  afterwards,  however,  he  paid  a  visit  to 
Father  Esmond,  showed  him  the  landlord's  imperti 
nent  missive,  and  informed  him  the  time  had  come 
when  he  should  resign  the  agency,  as  lie  had  re 
deemed  his  promise,  having  kept  it  as  long  as  it  was 
possible  to  do  any  good  to  the  tenantry  and  retain 
his  own  self-respect.  ZTiatw&sno  longer  possible. 
And  now  he  had  determined  to  resign  it,  but  would 
not  do  so  without  acquainting  Father  Esmond. 

The  venerable  old  priest  at  once  saw  the  impossi 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        149 

bill  ty  of  any  honorable-minded  man  retaining  such  an 
office  under  such  a  landlord ;  and,  while  he  acquiesced 
in  his  decision,  he  gave  him  many  thanks  and  praises 
for  his  great  forbearance.  "  It  is  happy  for  me,  my 
dear  friend,"  said  the  priest,  "  that  your  good  and 
respected  father  so  considerately  purchased  this 
ground  for  me,  and  also  my  schoolhouse,  through 
his  influence  with  old  Sir  Thomas  Plover,  or  I  too 
should  be  at  the  mercy  of  this  tyrant,  and  my  poor 
people  left  without  a  temple  to  worship  in.  And, 
thanks  to  your  further  consideration,  you  obtained  a 
similar  privilege  for  us  from  the  late  Sir  Charles,  so 
that  we  have  our  chapel  of  ease  on  the  hill,  and  no 
thanks  to  the  present  incumbent.  May  God  give 
us  all  patience !  There  will  be  sad  hearts  all  over 
the  estate  when  the  news  of  your  resignation  reach 
es  the  tenants.  Oh,  my  poor,  persecuted  children  ! 
my  peaceable,  happy  flock !  to  be  torn  by  wolves, 
and  worried  by  hypocritical  wretches,  with  the  name 
of  the  tender  and  loving  God  upon  their  lips,  and 
their  hearts  filled  with  malignity  !" 

Poor  old  Father  Esmond  paced  the  room,  his 
hands  behind  his  back,  and  his  eyes  fixed  on  the 
floor,  as  he  gave  utterance  to  these  expressions : 

"  God  protect  us  all !  And  he  calls  himself  a 
Christian  minister,  and  writes  reverend  to  his  name, 


150  THE   BYRNES    OF   GLEXGOULAII. 

and  quotes  scripture!     Oh,  God  help  us!  God  help 
us!" 

"  I  am  really  burning  with  shame,  Father  Esmond, 
as  a  Protestant,  to  think  such  things  can  be  done 
with  impunity  by  one  of  our  ministers,  and  we  are 
silent,  both  press  and  people.  If  we  -only  heard  of 
one  individual  Protestant  being  persecuted  in  a  Cath 
olic  country,  what  bursts  of  eloquence  would  come 
daily  from  our  press  !  what  vast  indignation  meet 
ings  would  be  held!  what  fine  speeches  made,  and 
flourishing  correspondence  carried  on  bet  \veen  the 
British  envoy  and  the  secretary  of  state !  I  am 
thoroughly  disgusted  with  such  flagrant  injustice. 
There  is  no  fair  play  for  my  Catholic  fellow-country 
man — I  see  that  very  plainly— no  liberty  of  con 
science  for  him.  Acts  of  barbarous  cruelty  are  per 
petrated  daily  upon  simple,  unoffending  people 
merely  because  they  are  Catholics.  And  men — other 
wise  honorable  members  of  society — are  content  to 
shrug  their  shoulders  and  wash  their  hands  of  it.  It 
sickens  me  to  the  soul  to  see  it.  As  a  sincere  Pro 
testant,  I  am  determined  not  to  rest  satisfied  until  I 
get  this  Biggs  disgraced  from  his  sacred  office.  I 
believe  there  is  truth  and  justice  still  to  be  found 
amongst  our  clergy,  and  I  mean  to  put  it  to  the  test. 
You  smile  incredulously,  Father  Esmond ;  but  I  do 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        151 

hope  to  make  my  voice  heard,  both  with  respect  tc 
liberty  of  conscience  and  a  satisfactory  adjustment 
of  the  landlord  and  tenant  question." 

"  Well,  God  speed  you,  my  dear  friend !  If  you 
succeed  you  will  confer  a  priceless  benefit  on  society. 
I  am  sure  no  cause  ever  had  a  nobler  or  more  sincere 
advocate.  You  will  have  the  most  fervent  prayers 
of  an  old  man,  though  I  have  not  the  slightest  faith 
in  your  success." 

The  day  after  this  interview  Mr.  De  Courey's  foot 
man  left  the  following  note  at  Glengoulah  Castle : 

"  Mr.  De  Courcy,  having  received  a  very  imperti 
nent  communication  on  the  27th  September  last 
from  the  Rev.  Samuel  Wilson  Biggs,  wishes  to  in 
form  that  individual  that  he,  Mr.  De  Courcy,  held 
the  agency  of  the  Glengoulah  estates  under  the  lato 
Sir  Charles  Plover  for  twenty-five  years,  but  he  has 
never  yet  been  agent  for  a  proselytizing  institution, 
nor  does  he  intend  lending  his  services  for  so  vile  a 
purpose. 

"  Mr.  De  Courcy  further  informs  the  above-named 
person  that  from  the  29th  of  said  month  he  has 
ceased  to  be  the  agent  for  the  Glengoulah  estates,  as 
he  purposes  never  to  have  his  name  connected  with 
any  man  who  has  not  the  instincts  of  a  gentleman. 

*'  CASCADE  MILLS,  October  3,  18 — ." 


152        THE  BYRXES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

Next  morning  Sandy  McGlauren  called  at  the 
office  for  the  accounts  and  documents  relating  to 
the  estates,  which  were  delivered  to  him  by  one  of 
the  clerks.  And  so  Glengoulah  Castle  and  estates 
passed  from  all  honest  hands,  and  the  hundreds  of 
hard-working,  upright  peasantry  who  dwelt  thereon 
were  altogether  in  the  unholy  keeping  of  knaves 
and  tyrants. 

Great  the  grief  and  loud  the  lamentations  of  that 
once  happy  tenantry  when  the  intelligence  was  pro 
claimed  that  their  much-loved  Mr.  De  Courcy  had 
ceased  to  be  connected  with  Glengoulah.  Tears 
bedewed  every  face,  and  a  wail  arose  from  every 
homestead,  such  as  in  Egypt  of  old  awoke  Pharaoh 
from  his  dream  of  security  when  heart-broken 
mothers  and  grief-stricken  fathers  mourned  with  a 
great  cry  the  death  of  their  first-born. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  Wilson  Biggs  did  not  remain 
long  without  an  agent.  He  appointed  one  Jacob 
Margin  as  his  representative  with  the  tenantry  of 
Glengoulah.  He  could  scarcely  have  shown  a  wiser 
discrimination  in  his  choice,  for  there  never  was  a 
more  fitting  representative  of  his  master,  or  a  more 
convenient  tool  to  perform  any  disreputable  deed. 
It  will  be  here  necessary  to  give  a  short  sketch  of 
Mr.  Jacob  Margin's  doings  before  he  was  appointed 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        153 

agent  for  the  Glengonlah  estates.  This  hoary  old 
miscreant  was  both  dreaded  and  detested  by  every 
one  of  his  poorer  neighbors.  Public  report  said  he 
could  not  tell  who  his  own  father  was.  It  is  certain, 
however,  he  was  of  low  extraction,  for  he  was 
brought  from  a  distant  county  years  ago  as  a  land 
steward  to  the  estate  of  a  Colonel  Ranford,  an  ab 
sentee,  who  had  spent  his  fortune  at  the  Cheltenham 
Waters  in  England.  Margin  arose  by  trickery  until 
he  became  agent  to  the  Clonbeggin  estate  (Colonel 
Ranford's  property),  and  also  to  the  Bannow  Navi 
gation  Company,  and  finally  to  the  mining  company 
of  the  neighboring  district.  Having  made  himself 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  state  of  Colonel 
Ranford's  finances,  and  finding  he  indulged  in  play, 
Margin  strongly  advised  him  to  remain  in  England, 
representing  it  as  an  impossibility  that  any  gentle 
man  could  reside  in  Ireland  in  consequence  of  the 
lawless  condition  of  the  people.  It  was  not  his 
fault  if  this  statement  were  incorrect,  for  he  tried 
his  best  to  drive  the  whole  country  to  distraction, 
and  partially  succeeded  with  the  Clonbeggin  tenan 
try,  and  with  all  the  cottiers,  laborers  and  miners 
who  had  the  misfortune  to  come  under  his  sway. 
He  had  not  been  more  than  five  years  installed  as 
agent  to  Clonbeggin  when  Colonel  Ranford  found 

7* 


154:  THE   BYENES    OF    GLENGOULAH. 

himself  in  very  embarrassed  circumstances,  with  an 
army  of  duns  at  his  heels.  Making  some  ineffectual 
efforts  to  curtail  his  expenses,  he  ordered  Margin  to 
sell  a  portion  of  his  unentailed  property,  and  so  year 
by  year  and  bit  by  bit  he  sold  all  his  ancestral  acres 
which  the  law  would  allow  him  to  dispose  of,  at  an 
immense  sacrifice — the  agent  declaring  it  was  a  most 
difficult  matter  to  find  purchasers,  owing  to  the  dis 
turbed  state  of  the  country.  The  colonel  then  or 
dered  the  entailed  portion  to  be  mortgaged,  and  at 
the  end  of  fifteen  years  he  was  so  hopelessly  involved 
as  to  be  obliged  to  fly  to  the  Continent  to  avoid  his 
creditors.  Just  at  this  period  his  only  son  came  of 
age,  and,  in  order  to  check  any  aspirations  after  ex 
pensive  pleasures,  the  colonel  told  him  the  desperate 
state  of  his  affairs. 

Mr.  Horatio  Ran  ford,  who  was  blessed  with  more 
sense  than  his  father,  decided  upon  starting  at  once 
for  Ireland,  and  try  to  manage  the  estate  himself. 
We  may  imagine,  but  cannot  describe,  his  indigna 
tion  on  finding  that  Mr.  Jacob  Margin — or  Jab,  as 
he  was  nicknamed  by  the  peasantry — had  been 
enriching  himself  at  his  father's  expense.  Every 
portion  of  Col.  Ranford's  property  which  had  been 
sold  had  been  purchased  by  Margin  himself.  Every 
pound  which  had  been  advanced  upon  the  mortga 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        155 

ges  came  from  the  pocket  of  Margin  at  a  ruinous 
interest. 

Many  a  noble  tree,  too,  in  the  beautiful  wood  of 
Clonbeggin,  which  clothed  the  hillside  overhanging 
the  river  Bannow,  was  cut  down  and  sold,  and 
many  more  were  marked  for  destruction.  Such  was 
the  state  of  affairs  at  Clonbeggin  when  Mr.  Horatio 
Ranford  arrived  from  England. 

Transported  with  fury  when  he  discovered  the 
perfidy  of  Margin,  he  at  once  dismissed  him  from 
the  agency,  and  immediately  employed  a  lawyer  to 
investigate  matters,  and,  if  possible,  prosecute  the 
old  scoundrel ;  but  the  wily  rascal  had  every  docu 
ment  so  legally  drawn  up  that  he  defied  prosecution, 
and  coolly  presented  his  accounts,  showing  Colonel 
Ranford  to  be  £1,500  in  his  debt.  The  colonel's 
estate  lay  contiguous  to  that  part  of  the  County  Wick- 
low  where  the  coal  mines  -were  situated,  and,  as 
"  Jab"  was  of  a  very  industrious  turn  of  mind,  he 
took  contracts  to  work  them  from  the  mining  com 
pany.  His  transactions  with  this  company  were 
worthy  the  genius  of  the  demon  himself.  He 
worked  the  mines  so  expensively  that  for  a  good 
while  it  was  all  outlay  and  no  return.  The  com 
pany  grumbled,  became  disheartened,  and  at  length 
stopped  the  works.  To  facilitate  matters,  "  Jab" 


156        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

succeeded  in  damming  up  the  course  of  a  stream 
which  ran  by  his  house,  and  thus  overflowed  the 
whole  mines,  including  the  pits  on  the  estate  of 
Lord  "Wallingford,  which  extended  for  miles  on  the 
slope  of  the  hill  below  the  water-course. 

Upon  the  plea  of  removing  an  evil  which  he  pre 
tended  very  much  to  deplore,  old  "  Jab"  built  a 
wall  around  an  island  in  the  river,  called  "  Moll 
Cody's  island  "  (from  an  old  crone  who  dwelt  there 
alone).  It  actually  belonged  to  the  County  AVexford, 
but  "  Jab"  filled  up  the  stream  on  the  Wicklow  side, 
and  deepened  the  bed  of  the  river  behind  it,  so  that 
the  stream  changed  its  course,  the  island  disappear 
ed,  or  rather  became  the  main  land,  and  formed  a 
portion  of  the  farm  of  Mr.  Jacob  Margin. 

It  was  apparently  an  insignificant  addition  to  his 
possessions,  being  only  a  couple  of  acres  in  extent. 
But  of  Margin  it  might  be  truly  said  he  looked 
below  the  surface  of  things,  for  his  experienced  eye 
saw  that  a  valuable  bed  of  coal  lay  underneath  the 
island,  which  he  intended  to  turn  to  good  account. 
While  he  protested  "  the  everlasting  gratitude  of  the 
people  was  due  to  him  for  spending  both  time  and 
money  turning  the  course  of  the  stream  in  order  to 
free  the  pits  from  water  and  give  employment  to 
the  miners,  it  made  his  heart  ache  to  see  so  many 


Til  K   DVUNKS    OF   GLENGOULAH.  157 

hundreds  thrown  out  of  work."  Notwithstanding 
all  his  protestations,  however,  the  water  did  not 
move  from  the  pits,  and  Lord  Wallingford's  engi 
neers  were  ungrateful  enough  to  say  he  did  it  to 
enrich  himself. 

His  lordship  thereupon  commenced  a  law-suit 
with  Margin  for  abstracting  a  portion  of  the  Coun 
ty  Wexford  contrary  to  statutes  made  and  provided. 
He  employed  barristers  of  high  standing  to  plead 
'his  cause,  and,  feeling  confidence  in  its  integrity, 
with  the  calm  demeanor  of  a  gentleman  he  awaited 
the  decision  of  the  court. 

Not  so  his  opponent.  His  course  was  quite  differ 
ent.  Every  species  of  chicanery  and  fraud,  no  mat 
ter  how  brazen,  was  resorted  to,  provided  only  he 
kept  clear  of  the  meshes  of  the  law.  He  had  around 
him  a  set  of  sycophants  of  the  most  degraded  char 
acter,  and  these  he  employed  to  serve  as  witnesses 
and  swear  the  exact  reverse  of  all  that  had  been 
proved  by  the  testimony  of  the  other  side.  What 
was  of  still  more  importance,  he  had  made  himself 
a  favorite  with  the  Government  for  various  little 
services  rendered,  more  easily  understood  than  ex 
plained,  so  that  he  counted  on  success  as  certain, 
as  well  he  might  under  the  circumstances.  The 
trial  came  on  ;  and,  after  various  motions  and  post- 


158        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

ponements,  and  finally  changing  the  venue,  and 
going  through  the  whole  form  again  in  another 
county,  was  twice  decided  in  Margin's  favor.  All 
the  country  people  predicted  this  decision  from  the 
commencement,  as  they  said — "  Jab  was  never  beat 
yet,  no  matter  who  was  against  him,  for  the  devil 
always  takes  care  of  his  own."  Lord  Wallingford, 
becoming  disgusted  with  such  low  trickery,  aban 
doned  the  case,  and  would  have  no  more  to  do  with 
it. 

Now  came  the  turning  point  in  old  "  Jab's"  life 
— the  point  for  which  he  had  toiled  and  schemed 
and  planned  and  robbed  with  an  indomitable  energy 
which  should  put  to  the  blush  those  who  are  striving 
for  an  everlasting  reward.  Few  are  the  Christians 
indeed  who  work  half  so  hard  for  the  Eternal  King 
dom  as  this  unfortunate  wretch  worked  to  gain  a 
position  for  a  few  years  in  this  perishable  world. 
He  allowed  the  pits  to  remain  under  water  about 
six  months  longer  to  save  appearances,  and  the 
amount  of  destitution  and  suffering  in  the  mines 
was  appalling.  Hundreds  emigrated  to  America, 
and  hundreds  more  passed  from  the  earth  like  shad 
ows,  worn  out  with  typhus  and  various  other  appa 
rent  diseases,  but  in  reality  dying  by  inches  from 
long  suffering  and  hope  deferred.  Having  at  length 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        159 

satisfied  himself  that  the  mining  company  were 
pretty  well  tired  of  the  mines,  Margin  laid  before 
them  a  proposition  :  it  was  to  rent  the  whole  of  the 
mines  belonging  to  the  company  at  a  low  estimate, 
in  consideration  of  the  great  risk  incurred — "  which 
risk,  however,  he  was  willing  to  undertake  merely 
from  a  benevolent  motive  to  give  employment." 
Out  of  every  £1  which  the  pits  produced  he  would 
give  them  2s.  6d.,  or  one-eighth. 

After  pondering  on  it  for  a  while,  and  remember 
ing  the  losses  they  had  already  sustained,  they  agreed 
to  the  proposal.  A  magnificent  engine,  which  cost 
the  company  over  £3,000,  and  had  long  been  lying 
there  apparently  useless,  he  purchased  from  them 
for  £800.  To  work  he  went  now,  and  soon  the 
water  disappeared  from  the  pits.  Men,  horses  and 
machinery  toiled  night  and  day,  and  untold  wealth 
was  brought  up  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THIS  Margin  had  a  wife  the  very  reverse  of  him 
self.  A  more  kind-hearted  being  never  breathed  the 
breath  of  life,  or  one  more  full  of  sympathy  for  the 
suffering  poor.  This  good  woman  was  ever  on  the 
watch  when  her  husband's  back  was  turned  to  see 
what  amount  of  relief  she  could  distribute.  Often 
would  she  hide  away  in  a  closet  the  wife  of  some 
poor  cottier  on  Jab's  unexpected  return,  and  on  let 
ting  her  out  through  the  back  gate  she  would  slip  a 
fine  cut  of  bacon  under  her  cloak,  in  addition  to  the 
well-filled  bag  of  meal  slung  across  her  shoulder. 
The  fiercer  the  wind  blew  or  the  more  incessant  the 
down-pouring  rain,  the  more  surely  was  the  excel 
lent  Mrs.  Margin  to  be  seen  straining  her  eyea 
through  the  window-panes,  and  ever  and  anon  dart 
ing  out  in  the  storm  to  look  up  and  down  the  road, 
hoping  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  her  dear  poor,  and 
most  lovingly  would  she  take  the  shivering  hands 
and  lead  the  drenched  forms  to  the  warm  kitchen 
hearth. 

It  is  said  there  is  an  angel  in  every  house,  and 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        161 

most  assuredly  there  was  for  a  time  an  angel  of 
mercy  under  the  roof-tree  of  this  incorrigible  villain. 
Many  a  half-uttered  curse  was  stifled  on  the  lips  of 
the  goaded  peasantry  when  they  remembered  this 
gentle  being. 

At  a  subsequent  period,  when  the  people,  driven 
to  distraction,  formed  a  secret  society,  old  "  Jab  " 
was  tried  by  one  of  their  tribunals  and  condemned 
to  die  for  his  atrocious  robberies  and  wholesale  mur 
ders  of  the  poor.  A  silence  for  many  minutes 
reigned  in  that  rough  assembly,  until  one  gaunt- 
looking  man,  with  a  blackened  face  and  hollow  voice, 
proposed  that  the  sentence  should  be  reversed  "  for 
the  sake  of  his  wife,  the  best  and  kindest  woman 
that  ever  lived."  The  motion  passed  unanimously, 
and  the  world  was  for  a  while  longer  cursed  by  the 
old  miscreant.  -  Margin  had  two  sons  and  three 
daughters,  nearly  all  like  himself.  Besides  his  own 
immediate  family,  he  imported  a  whole  colony  of 
nephews  from  his  native  county,  whom  he  established 
in  various  branches  of  business.  Two  had  general 
stores  or  shops  in  different  ends  of  the  mines,  where 
every  article  was  kept,  "  from  a  needle  to  an  anchor." 
Another  was  transformed  into  a  doctor,  and  imme 
diately  installed  in  the  county  dispensary  at  a  good 
salary.  Another  established  a  mill.  One  of  his 


162        THE  BTENES  OF  GLEN<K>ULAH. 

sons  he  made  a  lawyer.  The  other,  in  conjunction 
with  one  of  his  nephews,  founded  a  "  Loan  Bank," 
one  of  the  greatest  curses  ever  introduced  into  a 
country.  This  was  ostensibly  a  great  accommoda 
tion  to  the  miners,  as  they  could  borrow  small  sums, 
from  one  to  ten  pounds,  with  which  they  could  buy 
a  few  loads  of  coal,  and  by  the  sale  make  a  little 
profit  to  help  in  the  support  of  their  families.  For 
this  accommodation  they  paid  twenty  per  cent,  in 
terest,  which  was,  of  course,  deducted  from  the 
principal  before  it  was  paid  over.  The  payments 
were  made  by  weekly  installments,  and  should  be  all 
refunded  in  twenty  weeks.  If  but  one  week  was 
omitted  there  was  a  fine,  and  for  three  the  whole 
was  forfeited.  Two  solvent  names  besides  the  bor 
rower's  should  be  on  the  paper  for  security,  and  this 
document  should  be  laid  before  the  board  for  a  week 
before  the  important  question  could  be  decided 
whether  the  poor,  trembling  applicant  would  be  re 
fused  or  not.  Many  a  time  the  little  speculation 
turned  out  a  failure,  or  at  least  did  not  become  avail 
able  in  time  to  meet  the  weekly  payments,  and  then 
the  poor  wife  might  be  seen  trudging  her  weary  way 
over  the  hills  to  the  nearest  post-town  where  there 
was  a  pawn-office,  with  her  best  blue  cloak.  Next 
hei  husband's  Sunday  frize  would  go,  then  their 


THE   BYRNES    OF   OLENGOULAH.  163 

poor  bed-covering,  until  they  were  perfectly  bare. 
The  applicant  should  first  apply  to  the  doctor,  ma 
king  known  the  amount  he  required,  the  purpose 
for  which  he  wanted  it,  the  names  of  his  securities, 
etc.  If  the  doctor  approved,  he  would  then  sign  the 
application,  and  lay  it  before  the  board.  They 
could  afterward  accept  or  reject  it  as  they  pleased. 
For  this  small  act  of  courtesy  the  doctor  demand 
ed  pay — not  directly,  but  indirectly.  For  instance, 
he  would  make  it  his  business  to  ride  past  the  cabin 
of  such  applicant  on  his  way  home  from  the  dispen 
sary,  and  if  a  clutch  of  young  ducks,  or  chickens, 
or  a  couple  of  geese,  happened  to  be  waddling  round, 
he  would  call  out  the  poor  woman  and  order  them 
to  be  sent  to  his  house,  stating  that  he  would  set 
tle  for  them  with  her  husband.  Woe  betide  her, 
however,  if  she  dared  ever  to  remind  him  of  the 
debt ;  for  her  husband  or  her  son  would  be  turned 
out  of  the  uncle's  employment,  or  their  wages  cut 
down,  or  some  species  of  paltry  revenge  taken.  A 
few  such  examples  effectually  silenced  all  demands 
for  payment  for  poultry.  The  only  course  left  was 
to  hide  them ;  and  many  a  half-naked  little  boy 
with  bleached  hair  standing  erect  as  a  stubble  field, 
would  be  perched  on  a  ditch,  from  which  a  view 
of  the  dispensary  could  be  obtained,  watching  the 


THE    BYRNES    OF    GLENGOTTLAH. 

door  to  see  which  way  the  doctor's  horse  would  turn. 
If  seen  approaching,  the  poor  little  urchin  would  fly 
like  the  wind  to  warn  his  mother,  and  ducks,  tur 
keys  and  all  would  be  driven  into  the  cabin  and 
the  door  shut,  to  make  believe  there  was  no  one  in. 
All  the  cottiers,  miners,  laborers,  etc.,  received  their 
pay  in  orders  on  the  shops,  where  every  article  was 
kept  which  they  could  possibly  need — of  course  at 
a  good  profit.  It  was  with  great  difficulty  they 
could  prevail  upon  their  task-masters  to  give  them 
a  little  money  at  Christmas  and  Easter  to  pay  their 
dues  for  the  support  of  their  clergy.  It  was  a  reg 
ular  habit  of  the  whole  Margin  tribe  to  meet  at 
"  Jab's  "  house  at  stated  periods  and  take  counsel 
together.  Each  one  would  then  report  progress ; 
and  if  there  was  a  farm  that  one  of  them  coveted,  or 
a  poor  cabin  formed  an  eyesore  to  the  landscape 
from  their  residences,  or  any  other  such  trifle 
stood  in  their  way,  all  would  put  their  wicked  wits 
to  work  to  find  out  how  they  could  circumvent  the 
occupiers  of  such  farm  or  cabin,  and  then  become 
the  owners  themselves.  Knowing  the  importance 
of  having  a  friend  in  high  places,  it  was  their  con 
stant  study  to  curry  favor  with  the  British  Govern 
ment  by  denouncing  the  disaffected,  and  every  other 
means  in  their  power — a  task  not  at  all  difficult 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        165 

among  a  people  goaded  to  madness,  and  who  were 
often  driven  to  crime  from  sheer  desperation.  Thus 
the  Margin  family  became  literally  the  autocrats 
of  that  immense  district,  so  rich  in  mineral  wealth, 
and  the  mass  of  the  people  held  their  very  existence  by 
the  breath  of  those  merciless  wretches.  Many  an 
unfortunate  "  small"  farmer  whose  well-tilled  fields 
they  coveted,  was,  by  a  series  of  petty  persecutions, 
induced  to  join  the  brigade  of  Captain  Starlight,  or 
some  other  illegal  association.  His  footsteps  were 
dogged  by  night  and  day,  until  he  was  finally  de 
nounced  by  some  of  the  Margin  crew  to  the  minions 
of  the  law,  and  sent  to  languish  out  ten  or  fourteen 
years  in  penal  servitude,  in  all  probability  never 
more  to  behold  "  friends  and  sacred  homes." 

As  soon  as  the  excitement  cooled  down,  Margin, 
by  some  contrivance,  would  get  hold  of  the  cov 
eted  fields,  and  the  broken-hearted  wife  and  children 
would  be  sent  to  the  road,  or  worse — the  workhouse. 
One  well-remembered  circumstance  will  serve  as  an 
illustration  for  many,  many  similar  ones.  A  poor, 
wretched  man  had  been  denounced  in  the  way  above 
mentioned  and  transported.  He  had  never  been 
more  than  an  humble  cottier  who  worked  with  the 
neighboring  farmers,  and  who,  before  and  aftei 
hours,  tried  to  till  one  little  potato  field  behind  his 


166        THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULA.H. 

cabin.  The  miserable  cabin  and  poor  potato  patch 
were,  however,  painfully  visible  from  Margin's  par 
lor  windows,  and  every  expedient  was  resorted  to 
in  order  to  get  possession  of  them.  This  poor  man's 
father  and  grandfather  before  him  had  been  cottiers, 
and  contentedly  tilled  the  same  field  and  inhabited 
the  same  cabin.  It  was  the  only  home  he  ever  knew, 
and  he  loved  it  as  dearly  as  the  rich  man  loves  his 
ancestral  halls ;  perhaps  more  dearly,  for  it  was  all 
the  world  to  him.  Here  he  was  born  ;  here  he  was 
married  ;  and  here  his  seven  little  ones  first  saw  the 
light.  Margin  tried  to  purchase  it,  but  he  would 
not  sell.  He  then  coaxed,  wheedled,  threatened— all 
in  vain.  Thereupon  "  Jab"  commenced  to  perse 
cute,  and  a  series  of  petty  annoyances — each  of 
which  would  take  a  volume  to  describe—  we  re  set 
to  work,  until  the  unfortunate  creature  was  driven 
to  join  an  illegal  society,  then  in  full  operation  in. 
the  neighborhood,  and  which  promised  him  redress. 
His  was  the  very  voice  that  begged  Margin's  life 
might  be  spared  "  for  his  good  wife's  sake,"  while 
the  wretched  old  villain  was  tracking  his  footsteps 
like  a  blood-hound.  The  unfortunate  man  was  dis 
covered  with  illegal  papers  on  his  person,  and  Margin 
on  the  trial  represented  him  as  a  very  lawless  char 
acter  and  a  disturber  of  the  public  peace.  He  was 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.  _        167 

therefore,  of  course,  sentenced  to  serve  for  ten  years 
beyond  the  seas. 

Immediately  after  his  departure  a  great  council 
of  the  Margin  tribe  was  held,  and  the  subject  under 
discussion  was  how  to  get  this  cabin  out  of  sight. 
It  might  be  done  eventually  by  the  power  of  the 
law,  but  it  would  take  time ;  and,  as  one  of  the 
nephews  was  about  to  make  a  very  wealthy  match, 
it  was  quite  indispensable  to  have  such  an  unsightly 
object  removed  before  the  wedding  took  place.  The 
doctor  proposed  to  take  forcible  possession,  knock  it 
down,  and  let  the  wife  then  go  to  law  if  she  could — 
a  contingency  which  her  poverty  made  impossible. 

This  proposition  was  received  with  great  favor 
and  agreed  to  be  acted  upon,  but  old  "  Jab"  recom 
mended  that  some  weeks  should  be  allowed  to 
elapse  until  some  fresh  calamity  had  abated  the 
public  sympathy  for  this  worse  than  widow  and  her 
orphans  ;  and  for  this  purpose  it  would  be  necessary 
to  create  a  kind  of  panic.  Accordingly  a  false  re 
port  was  spread  one  morning,  about  a  month  later, 
that  Margin's  farm-house  and  mill  had  been  entered 
and  robbed  the  night  before.  Many  names  were 
mentioned  as  being  suspected,  and  all  were  in  con 
sternation,  for  the  ukase  had  gone  forth  that  ho 
would  stop  all  the  works  for  a  month  if  the  robbers 


168        THE  BYBNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

could  not  be  found — and  stopping  the  employment 
was  the  same  as  a  sentence  of  death  to  hundreds. 
Everybody,  therefore,  was  perplexed  how  to  act,  and 
was  trembling  for  his  own  fate.  In  the  midst  of  the 
general  confusion  a  set  of  strange  men,  unknown  in 
that  part  of  the  country,  came  from  Margin's  farm 
with  picks  and  crowbars  to  the  coveted  cabin,  and, 
coolly  handing  out  the  wretched  furniture,  finally 
dragged  out  the  unfortunate  wife  and  her  seven 
children  into  the  road,  pulled  off  the  thatch,  broke 
down  the  walls,  quenched  the  fire  on  the  hearth, 
and  demolished  every  vestige  of  their  home  ;  for, 
however  humble,  it  was  home,  after  all,  and  around 
it  their  fondest  affections  were  entwined. 

Doctor  Margin  presided  in  person  over  this  inhu 
man  transaction — done,  too,  without  even  the  sem 
blance  of  a  vile  law  to  sustain  it.  Calling  her 
desolate  children  round  her  this  heart-broken  poor 
woman  knelt  down,  and,  throwing  her  arms  up  to 
heaven,  while  tears  rained  down  her  cheeks,  prayed 
that  the  wrath  of  an  angry  God  might  descend  upon 
every  member  of  the  Margin  family — except  the  one 
of  whom  he  was  not  worthy — that  they  might  be 
accursed  both  in  this  world  and  the  world  to  come ! 
It  was  a  terrible  scene.  Arising,  she  shook  the 
dust  from  her  feet,  and,  casting  one  last  look  on  the 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        169 

heap  of  ruins  she  loved  so  well,  she  and  her  misera 
ble  little  flock  took  their  way  with  cries  and  sobs  to 
the  house  of  the  parish  priest. 

The  good  pastor  brought  them  to  his  fireside,  gave 
them  all  the  consolation  he  could,  and  what  tempo 
rary  relief  was  in  his  power.  When  she  told  him 
the  curse  she  had  pronounced  upon  the  Margins,  he 
shook  his  head  sorrowfully,  and  said  he  regretted 
she  had  committed  such  a  sin. 

"  Father,  honey  !  don't  say  another  word  to  me !  " 
exclaimed  the  bereaved  creature.  "  I  don't  believe 
that  the  good  and  marciful  God  will  ever  lay  it  upon 
my  sowl ;  because  my  heart  was  blistered  and  He  saw 
it — my  good  God  saw  it — and  he  knows  that  the 
same  breed  tore  the  father  from  my  poor  childer, 
and  I  tried  to  bear  it  and  never  cursed  them  then. 
But  when  they  tore  down  my  poor  cabin,  and  put  out 
the  fire  where  I  had  warmed  many  a  desolate  cray- 
thur  for  His  sake,  and  when  my  heart-broken  or 
phans  were  turned  upon  the  cowld  road,  I  should 
spake  or  I'd  bust ;  and  I  know  my  blessed  Father 
in  heaven  will  hear  my  prayer  and  will  never  have 
it  afore  my  sowl.  I  didn't  do  it  to  offind  him.  Oh, 
God  forbid  !  "  And  the  poor  soul  burst  into  a  pas 
sionate  flood  of  grief.* 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH. 

Mr.  Jacob  Margin  made  a  smiling  garden  where 
tli  s  poor  home  once  stood,  and  beautiful  flowers  of 
brilliant  hue  exhaled  their  fragrance  and  opened 
their  petals  to  the  sun,  and  the  birds  came  there  and 
sang  thfiir  little  hymns  of  praise,  never  knowing  the 
bitter  sorrow  that  had  wrung  burning  curses  on  that 
very  spot  from  a  heart  seared  with  human  agony — 
curses  which  arose  from  that  broken  heart  to  the 
throne  of  the  Most  High,  and  which  will  assuredly, 
in  God's  own  good  time,  bear  fruit.  A  few  months 
later  it  was  gazetted  that  "  Mr.  Jacob  Margin  had 
been  appointed  to  the  commission  of  the  peace,  his 
excellency  the  lord  lieutenant  having  no  doubt  he 
would  make  an  energetic  and  efficient  magistrate," 

O  O  ' 

and  thus  the  low-born  wretch  became  Jacob  Mar 
gin,  Esq.,  J.  P. 

God  help  poor  Ireland  ! 

I  would  here  apologize  to  my  readers  for  introduc 
ing  Mr.  Margin  to  their  notice.  I  am  painfully 
sensible  he  is  not  by  any  means  a  respectable  ac 
quaintance.  But  as  we  pass  through  life  we  must 
brush  against  villains  sometimes;  and  as  the  man 
lived  and  figured  in  many  of  the  sad  events  recorded 
in  these  pages,  it  is  necessary  he  should  be  known 
and  his  character  understood,  especially  as  his 
nephews  and  sons  are  still  living,  and  enjoying  the 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        171 

fruits  of  his  knavery.  Many  a  one  now  in  exile 
through  his  means,  and  many  who  have,  thank  God  ! 
outlived  his  treachery,  will  recognize  the  portrait. 

Again  I  say,  God  help  poor  Ireland !  and  God 
comfort  her  oppressed  people  ! 

In  the  long  catalogue  of  the  robberies  committed 
upon  them  by  English  law — or  by  Government  fa 
vorites  without  any  law — there  is  none  so  much  to 
be  deplored  as  robbing  them  of  their  independent 
spirit.  It  is  galling  to  the  soul  to  see  them,  hat  in 
hand,  craving  as  a  boon  what  the  meanest  serfs  in 
Europe  receive  as  a  right — namely,  a,  livelihood  out 
of  the  soil  on  which  God  has  placed  them.  But  it  is 
a  thousand  times  more  galling  to  hear  those  who 
ought  to  know  better  condemning  them  for  so  doing. 
They  cannot  help  it.  Their  very  lives  and  the  lives 
of  their  little  ones  depend  upon  their  submission  to 
the  great  man  of  the  district — most  frequently  a 
miserable  upstart,  inferior  to  themselves  in  every 
thing  but  wealth.  Many  fanners  who  hold  large 
farms  of  fine  productive  land,  and  who  often  have 
money  in  bank,  are  afraid  to  ride  a  good  horse  or 
allow  their  wives  or  daughters  to  appear  much  betr 
ter  dressed  than  their  poor  neighbors  lest  it  should 
be  suspected  they  had  money,  for  a  raise  in  the  rent 
would  surely  be  the  consequence. 


172  THE   BYKNES   OF   GLENGOTJLAH. 

The  poor  cottiers  tremble  to  be  discovered  with  a 
flock  of  geese  or  turkeys,  or  a  litter  of  young  pigs. 
We  have  seen  from  the  acts  of  Doctor  Margin  how 
necessary  it  is  to  hide  them  away  (unfortunately  he 
has  many  imitators),  and  thus  the  practice  of  dissim 
ulation  is  early  implanted.  Falsehood  belongs  to 
the  whole  system  of  British  rule  in  Ireland,  and  is 
perfectly  inseparable  from  the  odious  and  infamous 
laws  relating  to  land  tenures.  Prevarications  are 
essential  to  the  existence  of  the  peasantry  under  the 
present  order  of  things.  Let  those,  therefore,  who 
condemn  them  see  if  they  be  not  guilty  themselves 
before  they  cast  the  first  stone  at  the  wronged  and 
friendless  poor ;  and  when  they  hear  of  some  outrage 
committed  by  the  "  Whiteboys,"  or  some  such  ille 
gal  association,  let  them  pause  before  pronouncing 
their  eloquent  denunciations,  remembering  the  in 
tolerable  burdens  and  foul  oppressions  heaped  on  the 
people. 

I  am  not  the  advocate  of  secret  societies,  nor  do  I 
believe  there  is  much  good  affected  by  them  ;  but  it 
would  be  well  if  those  who  pass  such  severe  judg 
ment  on  their  members  would  bear  in  mind  that  the 
provocations  of  the  Irish  peasant  are  beyond  human 
endurance,  and  quite  sufficient  to  excuse  his  seeking 
redress  after  any  fashion,  or  to  palliate  any  excess 


THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        173 

he  might  commit.  They  should  further  bear  in 
mind  that  no  other  people  under  heaven  could  pass 
through  such  a  terrible  ordeal  for  centuries,  and 
come  out  of  it  with  so  many  shining  virtues  untarn 
ished. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  grief  and  consternation  of  the  Glengoulah 
tenantry  was  indescribable  when  they  heard  that 
Margin  had  been  appointed  agent.  They  knew  not 
what  it  was  to  be  servile,  for  they  had  always  been 
accustomed  to  being  treated  by  Mr.  De  Courcy  as 
human  beings,  whose  feelings  were  worthy  of  con 
sideration  and  respect.  It  therefore  took  a  long 
time  and  a  well-planned  series  of  persecutions  to 
bring  even  a  portion  of  them  under  subjection,  while 
others  were  driven  into  rebellion,  many  -of  whom 
were  formerly  remarkable  for  their  orderly,  peacea 
ble  dispositions.  Margin  purchased  a  small  estate 
as  near  as  possible  to  Glengoulah  Castle,  and  built 
a  fine  house  upon  it,  to  which  he  subsequently  re 
moved. 

About  this  time  his  eldest  son,  the  lawyer — the 
only  one  of  her  children  who  possessed  anything 
like  the  heart  of  his  mother — was  drowned  by  the 
upsetting  of  a  little  gig  in  which  he  had  been  taking 
?-  pleasure  sail  on  the  beautiful  Ovoca.  The  sight 
of  the  dead  body  of  her  firstborn  and  favorite  son 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        175 

preyed  upon  the  mind  of  the  kind  and  amiable  Mrs. 
Margin,  and  she  did  not  long  survive  the  blow. 

It  is  beautifully  said,  no  matter  how  a  man  may 
be  debased  by  sin,  he  still  has  some  one  redeeming 
trait  to  show  the  Divine  hand  that  formed  him  ;  u  as 
in  a  ruined  temple,  after  long  searching  among  the 
rubbish,  one  may  discover  some  broken  arch  or  rem 
nant  of  a  once  finely-chased  capital  to  mark  the  fin 
ished  genius  of  the  architect."*  So  it  was  with 
this  most  avaricious  old  sinner.  He  had  one  redeem 
ing  trait,  one  green  spot  in  the  arid  desert  of  his 
withered  heart.  It  was  a  great  love  for  his  wife  and 
respect  for  her  virtues,  which  he  would  never  tire  ex 
tolling,  but  would  not  try  to  imitate.  He  mourned 
her  long  and  sincerely ;  but  sorrow,  which  purifies 
most  natures,  seemed  only  to  stir  to  its  depths  the 
bitterness  of  his  accrimonious  disposition.  He  was  a 
tyrant  by  nature,  and  since  the  only  virtuous  thing  he 
ever  loved  was  taken  from  him,  he  devoted  all  his 
energies  to  the  acquisition  of  his  idols — wealth  and 
power. 

It  is  unnecessaryto  enter  into  the  details  of  his 
petty,  systematic  persecutions,  nor  would  the  history 
be  at  all  edifying.  It  will  be  enough  to  mention 
that  when  four  years  had  passed  there  was  a  visible 

*  Doctor  Cahill. 


176        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLEXGOULAII. 

change  both  in  the  farm-houses  and  the  people  of 
Glengoulah.  The  rents  had  been  increased  again  and 
again,  until  nearly  all  their  hard  earnings  went  into 
the  pocket  of  the  landlord.  Then  came  the  agent's 
"  duty  work,"  which  means  that  all  the  tenants  and 
their  laborers  are  expected  to  devote  some  days,  turn 
about,  during  the  season,  to  tilling  his  farm  free  of 
cost,  under  pain  of  his  eternal  enmity.  Add  to  these 
troubles  the  uncertainty  of  being  left  in  possession 
after  meeting  every  demand,  and  wonder  no  longer 
that  gates  were  seen  hanging  by  one  hinge,  cattle 
roaming  at  will  or  grazing  in  the  ditches,  pigs  and 
poultry  tresspassing  upon  neighbors,  thereby  causing 
disputes  and  often  lawsuits ;  the  cattle  pens  looking 
shabby,  and  the  whole  byre,  once  so  trim  and  well- 
kept,  dirty  and  miry,  the  poor  vines  and  flower-beds 
drooping  and  running  wild,  the  very  smoke  seeming 
not  to  curl  up  as  of  old  in  graceful  spiral  wreaths, 
but  coming  out  one  time  in  a  sullen  gust  of  indig 
nation,  and  at  another  lazily  mounting  but  a  little 
way,  and  falling  back  again  on  the  roof  of  the  farm 
house  with  a  sad,  disconsolate  air.  The  landscape, 
however,  lost  nothing  of  its  beauty,  for  the  hand  of 
God  had  piled  the  beautiful  hills  peak  over  peak, 
and  clothed  them  with  the  most  exquisite  variety  of 
shrubs  and  trees,  and  the  slopes  He  covered  with  the 


THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        177 

softest  and  greenest  of  turf.  Then  he  called  out  the 
starry  buttercups  and  daisies  to  spangle  it  over,  as 
the  blue  heavens  were  spangled  at  night  with  the 
myriad  worlds  of  light ;  and  He  filled  the  groves 
with  bands  of  feathered  musicians ;  and  He  com 
manded  the  crystal  rills  to  run  singing  into  the  val 
leys,  and  the  brooks,  and  the  birds,  and  the  flowers 
all  obeyed  Him ;  and,  therefore,  no  amount  of  wick 
edness  on  the  part  of  man  could  mar  the  lovely  pros 
pect. 

Well,  it  is  time,  after  this  long  digression,  to  see 
how  Toney  Byrne  and  his  family  fared  in  these  al 
tered  times. 

Poor  Toney  has  still  the  same  industrious  habits, 
the  same  confiding  trust  in  Divine  Providence, 
although  there  is  a  great  change  in  his  once  happy 
homestead.  And  death,  too,  has  visited  him  in  the 
midst  of  his  other  cares.  His  youngest  child,  Pat 
rick — "  the  very  mott  of  himself,"  as  his  mother  used 
to  say — a  gentle,  good-humored,  loving  boy,  was 
taken  down  with  scarlet  fever,  as  were  Andy  and 
Mike  likewise,  but  the  two  latter  recovered,  and  lit 
tle  Patrick  went  to  play  with  the  angels  and  bade 
adieu  to  sorrow  for  evermore.  It  was  a  sad  trial 
upon  his  father  and  mother  to  part  with  this  quiet, 
affectionate  little  fellow.  It  was  the  first  child  thev 

8* 


178         THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

ever  buried,  and  their  grief  was  great  to  see  him 
die  in  the  morning  of  life  ;  but  when  the  first 
great  burst  of  sorrow  had  passed,  they  blessed  God 
for  securing  their  beloved  boy  a  home  in  His  own 
kingdom,  far  from  the  persecutions  of  their  proselyt 
izing  landlord  and  agent.  Those  three  boys  had 
unconsciously  brought  great  trouble  to  their  parents, 
for  they  had  been  continually  harassed  by  messages 
from  the  landlord  earnestly  requesting  they  should 
be  sent  to  the  school  designed  for  them.  Toney 
mildly  but  firmly  refused  to  send  them,  alleging 
"  he  wanted  the  eldest  boy  at  home  to  help  him  on 
the  farm — the  only  time  he  could  spare  for  learning 
being  at  night ;  and  as  a  master  came  to  teach  him, 
why,  they  might  as  well  all  learn  together." 

Nothing  daunted,  the  Bible-reader  of  his  reve- 
ence  came  again  to  request  the  two  younger  ones 
might  be  sent. 

Not  wishing  to  exasperate  his  tyrant,  poor  Toney 
said  "  his  second  eldest  boy  was  inclined  to  be  frol 
icsome,  and  he  tried  to  keep  him  from  other  boys  as 
much  as  possible.  He  would  only  be  a  source  of 
trouble  in  the  school,  and  he  did  not  wish  to  let  him 
from  under  his  own  eye." 

A  third  message  came  —  and  this  time  it  was 
borne  by  Miss  Biggs  herself,  in  her  carriage. 


THE  BYKNKS  OF  GLENGOULAH.        179 

"  Her  reverend  brother  had  sent  to  request  the 
youngest  boy  to  come  to  school  the  following  Monday 
morning,  as  he  understood  he  possessed  a  very  mild 
temper."  Toney  was  eating  his  dinner  when  she 
swept  in  awful  grandeur  into  the  farmer's  kitchen. 
He  told  her  "  his  little  boy  had  never  been  absent 
from  home  without  some  member  of  his  family ;  and, 
being  of  a  very  timid  disposition,  he  would  fret  and 
pine  among  strangers. 

Miss  Biggs  was  very  eloquent,  and  consumed  with 
zeal ;  Toney  Byrne  very  mild,  but  determined.  All 
she  could  get  out  of  him  was,  that  he  would  wait 
until  the  boy  grew  older  before  he  would  send  him 
to  school ;  and  he  bowed  the  lady  very  respectfully 
into  her  carriage. 

Toney  had  expressly  forbidden  Kitty  to  hold  any 
conversation  with  those  Bible-readers,  or  any  of  the 
Biggs  messengers,  knowing  she  would  not  be  able 
to  keep  her  temper,  and  would  do  no  good  by  losing 
it.  Therefore,  when  they  called  in  his  absence, 
Kitty  told  them  she  would  tell  her  husband  and  let 
him  do  as  he  pleased.  Some  tried  to  engage  her  in 
a  controversy,  but  she  resolutely  kept  very  busy 
always,  and  did  not  remain  a  moment  in  the  room. 

About  a  year  or  two  after  this,  just  as  school 
opened  one  vacation,  the  three  boys  took  the  scarlet 


180  THE   BYRXES    OF   GLENGOULAII. 

fever,  and  the  youngest  died  as  we  have  seen  :  "  a 
just  judgment  upon  his  parents,"  the  Bible-readera 
and  the  Misses  Biggs  said,  "  for  keeping  him  from 
the  knowledge  of  the  Lord." 

His  Christian  parents  took  a  very  different  view, 
however,  of  his  removal.  They  deemed  it  a  mark 
of  the  tenderest  love  of  their  dear  Father  in  Heaven 
to  take  the  gentle  child  to  His  bosom,  and  thus  de 
prive  the  voracious  Biggs  of  a  prey  he  intended  to 
devour.  There  was  now  no  fear  of  his  claiming 
Mike  for  a  pupil,  for  some  .months  at  least,  a*$  the 
minister  and  his  family,  like  all  of  their  class,  had  a 
mortal  dread  of  contagion.  So  Toney  enjoyed  about 
six  months'  peace. 

Winnie  still  contrived  to  trail  the  vines  and  tend 
the  flowers  as  of  old,  for  the  sake  of  good  Mr.  De 
Courcy,  whose  gift  they  were — therefore  the  farm 
house,  in  its  exterior,  looked  less  changed  than  most 
others,  but  many  of  its  interior  comforts  were  gone. 
The  kitchen  roof  no  longer  contained  its  weighty 
drapery  of  flitches  of  bacon,  nor  were  the  bins  filled 
with  oatmeal  as  in  former  days.  Poverty  was  be 
coming  an  inmate  where  none  of  God's  poor  were 
ever  denied  relief.  But  no  murmurs  nor  complaints 
were  heard.  Cheerfulness  and  hospitality  still  had 
a  shelter  around  the  blazing  turf  pile,  and  tales  and 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.         181 

songs  went  round ;  but  often  the  subjects  under  dis 
cussion  took  a  gloomier  character  than  was  their 
wont,  and  men  talked  with  flash  ing  eyes  of  the  vast 
change  wrought  in  Glengoulah  since  Sir  Charles 
died,  but  especially  since  old  Margin  became  agent. 

The  bare  mention  of  the  agent's  name  brought 
curses  to  their  lips,  which  were  but  half  uttered 
when  a  reproof  from  Toney  stopped  them :  "  Boys, 
boys,  honey !  take  care  what  you're  sayin'  now — 
don't  be  sinnin'  your  souls  with  him — lave  him  to 
God ;  he  can't  be  worse  nor  he  is,  and  all  your  hard 
words  wont  make  him  any  better." 

"  Better  eneagli !  Be  my  sowl,  he'll  be  better  when 
the  divil  has  him,  but  not  till  thin." 

"  Well,  it  can't  be  very  long  till  that  time  comes, 
anyway.  Sure  the  divil  has  a  heavy  mortgage  on 
his  sowl,  and  he'll  pretty  soon  be  lookin'  for  his  own, 
plaze  the  pigs." 

"  Och  !  That  he  may  take  him  body  and  bones 
wid  all  my  heart.  Don't  be  shakin'  your  head  at 
me  now,  Mr.  Byrne  ;  throth  its  sorry  I  am  that  cur- 
sin'  is  a  sin,  for  its  fine,  manly  talk." 

"  Well,  purshume  to  you !  Out  of  my  sight,  Tom 
Moody  ;  you'd  make  a  dog  laugh,  so  you  would. 
Isn't  it  to  pity  the  unfortunate  wretch  ye  ought  ? 
I'm  sure,  wid  all  his  riches,  not  one  of  us  would  swap 


182        THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

places  with  him,  poor  as  we  are  (and  sure,  we  could 
be  a  great  dale  worse,  glory  be  to  God) ;  would  we 
now  ? " 

"  Is  it  to  swap  with  old  Jab  ?  Oh,  no  !  Faix,  if 
we  have  empty  pockets,  we  have  light  heels  and 
Bound  ones  too,  the  Lord  be  praised !  " 

This  was  in  allusion  to  a  running  sore  of  long 
standing  which  Obliged  Jab  always  to  appear  astride 
a  little,  stout-built,  black  pony,  which  same  animal 
was  often  earnestly  recojj*mended  by  passing  pedes- 

TB^*"3*" 

trians  to  stumble  aya  break  its  master's  neck — a  re 
commendation,  however,  the  sure-footed  little  animal 
heard  in  dignified  silence. 

"  Well,  he  can't  have  very  long  to  run  now,  him 
self  or  his  ould  leg;  let  him  do  his  best.  There  wont 
be  many  brealSip'  hearts  after  he  goes,  that's  one 
comfort." 

"  Be  dad,  your  right  there,  Peter ;  for  he'll  break 
them  all  afore  he  goes,  I'm  thinkin'." 

This  last  remark  was  made  by  Bryan  Dempsey, 
the  young  farmer  who  evinced  so  much  sympathy 
for  Toney  Byrne  the  day  Mr.  De  Courcy  announced 
so  unwillingly  the  first  increase  in  the  rents,  and 
the  landlord's  refusal  to  sign  the  leases.  Little  did 
poor  Bryan  dream  how  very  prophetic  his  words 
were,  as  far  as  concerned  him  and  all  he  loved  most 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        183 

dearly.  He  had  become  a  constant  visitor  at  Toney's 
farm-house  ever  since  that  day,  and  had  endeared 
himself  to  every  one  in  the  house  by  his  efforts  tc 
make  them  forget  their  sorrows. 

At  this  present  time,  however,  since  the  truth 
must  be  told,  he  had  a  little  personal  interest  to  for 
ward  there  too,  for  his  heart  had  been  attracted  to  the 
joyous  nature  of  the  pretty,  blooming  Winnie,  now 
emerging  into  womanhood.  Somehow  or  other, 
whatever  way  it  happened,  Bryan  too  had  become 
dearer  to  Winnie  than  all  the  world  besides.  No 
doubt  it  was  all  because  of  his  great  respect  for  her 
father.  Of  course  she  would  not  acknowledge  such 
a  weakness  for  any  consideration,  and  was  always 
ready  to  repel  with  indignation  such  a  very  foolish 
charge.  Nevertheless,  a  close  observer  might  easily 
detect  how  her  ear  quickened  when  his  visiting  hour 
came  in  the  evening ;  how  her  cheeks  flushed  when 
a  step  came  into  the  little  porch  and  the  latch  was 
raised  ;  how  her  heart  "  fell  down  into  her  shoes  " 
when  some  other  head— Tom  Moody's  for  instance — 
appeared  with  its  "  God  save  all  here ;"  how  she 
tossed  her  head,  looked  at  the  fire,  gave  a  very  un 
necessary  jerk  to  her  spinning-wheel,  and  had  hard 
ly  a  civil  word  for  poor  Tom,  who,  taking  a  seat  be- 
eide  her,  tried  his  very  best  to  be  entertaining  ;  how 


184  THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOTTLAH. 

another  step,  and  the  right  head  this  time,  made  her 
pure  blood  mount  to  the  temples,  and  how  very  sud 
denly  she  became  all  attention  to  Tom's  narrative, 
laughing  at  his  jokes,  and  asking  him  many  ques 
tions,  being  very  careful  meantime  to  avoid  the 
particular  spot  where  Bryan  sat. 

Yes,  indeed,  to  any  observer  who  knew  anything 
of  that  mysterious  fountain  of  truest  human  aifec- 
tion — a  woman's  heart — it  was  very  plain  that  the 
teasing,  laughter-loving  singing-bird  of  the  hills  was 
caged  at  last.  Accordingly,  after  a  little  show  of 
resistance  on  Winnie's  part,  and  many  an  anxious 
sigh  on  the  part  of  Toney,  who  would  fain  have  seen 
Bryan's  affairs  in  a  more  flourishing  condition  for 
the  sake  of  his  favorite  child,  as  well  as  for  the  sake 
of  her  brave  young  suitor  whom  he  loved  as  a  son, 
Bryan  and  Winnie  were  married. 

Toney  had  long  since  surrendered  all  hope  of  leases 
ever  being  given  by  the  parson,  but  he  trusted  that, 
seeing  how  peaceable  and  industrious  they  all  were, 
he  would  leave  them  in  undisturbed  possession. 

Mrs.  Byrne,  although  she  owned  Bryan  Dempsey 
to  be  a  great  pet  of  hers,  made  divers  moans  at  the 
idea  of  parting  with  her  only  daughter ;  and  al 
though  the  whitewashed  farm-house  of  Bryan  could 
be  distinctly  seen  about  a  mile  up  the  hill  peeping 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.          185 

through  the  trees  from  the  spot  where  Mrs.  Byrne 
so  often  sat  spinning,  yet  she  shook  her  fist  at  Bryan 
and  called  him  a  "  hard-hearted,  cruel  boy  to  rob 
her  of  her  only  daughter,  her  last  remaining  com 
fort.  She  might  now  sit  alone  and  spin,  and  who 
would  she  have  to  talk  to  ?  Sure  all  the  world  and 
his  wife  knew  boys  were  not  fit  companions  for  a 
mother,"  etc.,  etc. 

But  the  wedding  took  place  nevertheless,  and  a 
very  pleasant  wedding  it  was  too,  in  spite  of  their 
altered  circumstances.  Nor  did  the  guests  find 
much  difference  in  the  quality  or  quantity  of  the 
viands  from  the  memorable  occasion  six  years  before 
when  Margaret  Byrne  was  converted  into  Mrs.  Don- 
ohoe  of  Coolanish,  County  Wexford.  The  truth  was, 
the  same  Margaret  and  her  husband,  with  a  thought 
ful  affection  creditable  alike  to  head  and  heart,  came 
to  Glengoulah  a  few  days  before  the  marriage  of 
Winnie,  bringing  four  boisterous  young  urchins  and 
two  or  three  very  suspicious-looking  hampers.  Now 
there  issued  from  two  of  those  hampers,  I  can  aver 
most  positively,  doleful  cries  for  freedom  from  sev 
eral  chosen  specimens  of  bipeds  which  had  been 
kept  in  durance  vile  the  whole  journey,  and  which, 
sad  to  relate,  had  their  heads  knocked  off  on  being 
released  from  confinement.  Certain  I  am  I  saw  with 


186  THE    BYKNES    OF    GLENGOULAII. 

my  mortal  eyes  the  bodies  of  three  gigantic  l 
hanging  by  the  heels  at  the  end  of  the  hoase,  while 
the  perseverance  with  which  the  smaller  poultry 
struggled  and  begged  for  life  was  worthy  of  a  better 
cause.  I  also  received  reliable  information  that  a 
whole  sheep  and  a  side  of  beef  were  found  in  con 
cealed  parts  of  the  market-wagon  on  a  close  inspec 
tion.  What  the  other  hamper  contained  must  for 
ever  remain  a  secret  to  outsiders.  So 

"  All  went  merry  as  a  marriage  bell." 

Darby  Wholahan  was  there  sporting  bran  new 
pipes  for  the  occasion,  rolling  his  sightless  orbs  and 
making  all  sorts  of  grimaces  for  the  amusement 
of  the  junior  Donohoes  and  sundry  other  youngsters 
who  were  never  done  admiring  the  squeezing  of 
that  merry  bag  of  wind,  diving  every  half  minute 
underneath  on  an  exploring  expedition  to  see  where 
the  music  came  from,  and  always  going  off  in  an 
ecstasy  of  delight  when  Darby  would  make  it  squeak 
like  a  young  pig.  Ah,  but  the  jigs  and  reels  !  You 
should  have  been  there  to  see,  for  my  pen  fails.  "  The 
New  Married  Bride,"  "  Cover  the  Buckle,"  "  Hush 
the  Cat,"  and  innumerable  others,  were  done  to  perfec 
tion. 

"  Now  Felix  Magee  puts  bis  pipe  to  his  knee, 
And  with  flourish  so  free  sets  each  couple  in  motion, 
With  a  cheer  and  a  hound  larln  patter  the  ground, 
The  maids  move  around  just  like  .->wai!3  in  the  ocean, 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLKNGOULAH.         187 

Cheek?  bright  as  the  rose,  feet  light  as  the  doe'a, 
Now  coyly  retiring,  now  boldly  advancing — 
Search  tho  world  all  around,  from  the  sky  to  the  ground, 
No  such  sight  can  be  found  as  an  Irish  lass  dancing." 

"Well !  well !  The  brightest  sun  that  ever  shone 
upon  this  world  but  lends  his  brightness  for  a  little, 
and  then  fades  into  the  deep  night.  All  earthly 
joys  must  end  ;  and  so  the  happy  wedding-party  of 
Winnie  and  Bryan  was  broken  up,  when,  at  the  dawn 
of  day,  the  whole  company  in  a  body  walked  up 
the  hill  and  took  a  loving  farewell  of  the  young 
couple  at  the  door  of  the  white  farmhouse  that 
peeped  through  the  clump  of  trees. 


CHAPTER  XY. 

A  FEW  years  passed  away,  the  Protestant  bishop 
of  the  diocese  died,  and  the  Rev.  Samuel  Wilson 
Biggs  was  appointed  his  successor  in  the  Episcopal 
dignity.  It  was  considered  good  news  by  the  ten 
antry  on  the  Glengoulah  estate,  for  they  hoped  he 
would  remove  to  the  Episcopal  palace,  where  his 
predecessor  always  resided,  but  they  were  doomed 
to  disappointment. 

His  newly-created  lordship  declared  it  was  his  in 
tention  to  reside  permanently  at  Glengoulah  Castle. 
"  He  could  not  think,"  he  said,  "  of  abandoning  the 
Lord's  pasturage,  now  that  new  sheep  were  daily 
flocking  to  feed  upon  the  fatness  thereof." 

The  solution  of  this  mystery  was  that  the  storm 
BO  long  threatening  was  now  about  to  burst.  Noti 
ces  to  quit  were  served  upon  every  one  of  the  ten 
ants  whose  leases  had  expired ;  and  though  they  diJ 
not  owe  one  farthing  of  rent,  yet  were  they  all  to 
be  ejected  from  the  homes  occupied  by  so  many 
generations  of  their  ancestors.  Grief  and  conster 
nation  dwelt  in  every  house.  "Where  were  they  .to 
turn  to  ?  What  was  to  become  of  their  children  1 


THE  BYKNE8  OF  GLENGOULAH.        189 

On  the  townland  of  Driniraure  the  tenantry  held 
a  meeting  among  themselves,  and  discussed  the 
question  :  "  Should  their  children  be  sacrificed  ?  " 
Fear  unhappily  prevailed  over  their  better  judg 
ment,  and  the  agreement  come  to  was  that  the  chil 
dren,  should  be  given  up.  The  next  day  the  bailiffs 
came  amid  the  loud  and  prolonged  lamentations  of 
the  parents,  many  mothers  tearing  their  hair  and 
throwing  themselves  frantically  on  the  earth.  The 
children  were  given  up,  and  no  more  was  heard  of 
the  ejectment  on  that  townland,*  with  one  excep 
tion.  No  one  knew  better  than  his  lordship  how, 
for  this  dereliction  of  duty,  those  unfortunate  crea 
tures  were  racked  by  the  bitterest  remorse  of  con 
science  ;  and  were,  of  course,  most  justly  excluded 
by  their  pastor  from  partaking  of  the  holy  sacra 
ments.  Little  he  cared  for  the  pangs  he  caused  the 
poor — his  paramount  determination  was  to  crush 
the  benign  influence  of  the  true  faith,  and  to  destroy 
the  affection  existing  between  the  people  and  their 
pastors.  Senseless  wretch  !  As  well  might  he  try  to 
prevent  the  green  moss  from  clinging  to  the  change 
less  rock  which  supports  it,  and  which  it  beautifies 
by  its  dependent  love. 

I  have  said  there  was  one  exception  on  the  town- 

*  See  the  account  of  the  Partry  evictions,  1857. 


190        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

land  of  Drinimure,  which  I  must  relate.  A  man 
named  Cormac  held  a  fine  farm  on  that  townland, 
and  his  ancestors  before  him  for  more  than  two  hun 
dred  years !  He  was  a  man  proud  of  his  ancient 
race,  whose  spirit  chafed  against  these  petty  transac 
tions.  The  accession  of  Biggs  to  the  estate  made 
him  rear  and  plunge  like  a  war-horse,  but  the  ap 
pointment  of  Margin  to  the  agency  broke  his  heart. 
Every  time  they  came  in  contact  they  openly  quar 
relled,  for  Cormac  never  could  brook  Margin's  inso 
lent  sneering  manner.  Happily  for  poor  Cormac, 
before  the  expiration  of  Margin's  first  year  of  office 
he  died,  commending  his  widow  and  only  child  to 
God.  Mrs.  Cormac  was  a  woman  of  high  spirit, 
and  she  bravely  toiled  to  keep  herself  and  child  in 
respectability,  although  the  frequent  raisings  of  her 
rent  made  it  a  difficult  matter  to  perform.  Her  lit 
tle  daughter,  Norah,  was  a  sweet  child,  and  went 
regularly  every  day  to  the  convent-school  of  Ard- 
more,  a  distance  of  six  miles.  Being  a  talented, 
amiable  child,  she  was  much  beloved  by  the  nuns. 
She  had  a  fine  voice,  and  they  taught  her  to  sing 
many  beautiful  hymns,  and  often  accepted  her  ser 
vices  in  their  choir  on  festive  occasions. 

Judge  the  feelings  of  this  widowed  mother  when 
she  was  called  upon  for  the  last  time  to  resign  her 


TIIE   BYKNES    OF    GLENGO.ULAH.  191 

loved  and  carefully-instructed  child,  now  about  four 
teen  years  old,  to  the  care  of  the  Misses  Biggs,  or 
give  up  the  time-honored  home  of  the  Cormacs  for 
ever  and  become  an  outcast  on  the  bounty  of  stran 
gers.  Fancy  may  imagine  but  no  pen  could  por 
tray  the  anguish  of  that  mother's  heart.  Though  a 
young  woman,  her  hair  became  blanched,  and  many 
an  hour  in  the  dead  of  ni^ht  she  would  kneel  at  the 

o 

foot  of  a  picture  of  the  "  Mater  Dolorosa,"  where  all 
the  emblems  of  the  sacred  passion  were  represented, 
lying  before  the  sinless  Virgin  ;  again,  she  would 
arise  and  pace  the  floor,  moaning  and  wringing  her 
hands.  Ah,  poor  mother!  who  can  blame  you  if 
for  a  brief  space  the  tempter  triumphed  !  When 
the  bailiffs  entered  the  house,  accompanied  by  a 
Bible-reader  named  Faulkner,  Mrs.  Cormac  fixed 
her  eyes  upon  them,  glaring  like  a  chained  lioness  ; 
her  lips  were  compressed  and  her  arms  tightly 
crossed  upon  her  bosom,  as  if  to  keep  them  from 
doing  bodily  harm  to  the  wretches. 

Turning  to  her  child  she  said,  in  a  harsh,  hurried 
voice,  "  Go  with  them,  Norah !" 

Norah  looked  wildly  at  her  mother  for  a  moment, 
and  then,  uttering  a  piercing  shriek,  which  never 
afterward  left  her  mother's  ears,  she  sped  down  the 
road  like  an  arrow  from  a  bow,  and  reaching  the 


192        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

banks  of  the  Ovoca  flung  herself  into  its  now  deep 
and  rapid  waters,  for  it  was  the  month  of  November. 
Another  of  the  tenants,  named  Fitzpatrick,  who 
was  coming  up  the  road  at  the  moment,  saw  the  ac 
tion,  jumped  in  and  saved  her !  *  He  carried  her 
out,  and  placed  her  living  though  senseless  form  in 
the  arms  of  her  mother,  who  just  reached  the  spot 
in  a  state  of  distraction.  The  neighbors  helped 
both  to  their  home.  After  the  application  of  re 
storatives  the  little  girl  opened  her  eyes,  and  seeing 
her  mother  leaning  over  her,  clasped  her  fondly  and 
looked  lovingly  in  her  face  with  a  childish  smile. 
The  mother  was  consoled,  and  blessed  God  that  she 
was  restored  to  her.  Poor  soul !  she  did  not  then 
know,  what  she  soon  learned,  that  the  dear  child, 
though  ever  loving  and  gentle,  was  an  idiot !  The 
light  of  reason  had  fled  those  timid  but  ever  smil 
ing  eyes.  A  few  days  afterward  the  Bible-reader 
called  to  demand  the  child  again.  Norah,  shaking 
from  head  to  foot,  cowered  behind  her  mother's 
chair  like  a  terrified  fawn.  Mrs.  Cormac,  confront 
ing  Faulkner,  exclaimed  indignantly  — 

"  Begone,  Satan  !     Tell  your  hell-hound  of  a  mas 
ter  that  I  spit  upon  his  notices,  and  defy  his  threats !  " 

*  "  A  boy,  son  of  John  Fitzpatrick,  tried  to  drown  himself  rather  than  be 
victimized,  bat  was  rescued  by  his  fattier." — From  Father  Lavelle's  Letter 
on  Partry  Evictions,  1858. 


THE   BYJBNES   OF   GLENGOULAH.  193 

Seeing  the  unearthly  light  that  shone  in  the  out 
raged  woman's  eyes,  the  sneaking  Bible-reader 
turned  and  fled. 

The  following  Sunday  night  the  dwellings  of  tho 
poor  laborers  in  the  town  of  Ardmore  and  its 
neighborhood  were  invaded  by  the  emissaries  of 
the  sheriff,  offering  the  sum  of  £2  to  any  man  who 
would  assist  in  the  evictions.  They  met  a  blunt 
refusal  in  many  places,  notwithstanding  the  evident 
destitution  under  which  the  poor  people  svere  suffer 
ing.  In  one  instance  a  father  and  his  son  were 
offered  £4;  and  another  man  with  two  sons  was 
offered  £6.  Those  who  have  seen  the  bitter  povertj 
of  the  poor  laborers  in  Ireland  can  justly  estimate 
the  fortitude  and  even  heroism  necessary  to  refuse 
such  a  temptation. 

When  the  recruiting  general  found  he  could  not 
succeed  he  changed  his  tactics,  representing  that 
"  they  were  only  required  at  the  castle  for  a  day's 
little  business." 

The  poor  wives  of  these  men,  on  inquiry,  discovered 
the  artifice,  and  flung  themselves  on  their  knees  be 
fore  their  husbands,  entreating  them  to  reject  the 
bribe.  They  declared  they  were  satisfied  to  endure 
with  patience  the  starvation  they  and  their  little 
ones  were  suffering,  while  they  had  a  shelter,  even 

9 


194        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

without  fire,  as  they  were  that  cold  weather.  The 
men  were  also  offered  with  the  bounty  a  strong  es 
cort  of  police  from  the  outside  of  the  town  until 
they  would  return  at  night,  and  were  told  they 
would  be  flanked  by  two  divisions  of  her  majesty's 
20th  regiment,  with  loaded  muskets  and  screwed 
bayonets,  while  they  were  levelling  the  houses.  The 
pooi-  fellows  said  it  was  not  the  dread  of  man  that 
deterred  them,  but  the  fear  of  God,  and  that  they 
had  already  too  many  proofs  of  the  desolation  brought 
on  by  the  accursed  crowbarism\\\  the  neighborhood.* 

After  some  delay  his  lordship  procured  ten  men, 
the  offscourings  of  the  lanes  and  alleys  of  Dublin, 
to  be  imported  for  the  work  of  desolation.  On  the 
26th  of  November  the  rain  fell  in  torrents,  when 
there  passed  through  the  town  of  Tinmanogue  a 
body  of  two  hundred  mounted  constabulary,  a  troop 
of  infantry,  a  troop  of  dragoons,  and  two  pieces  of 
artillery,  on  their  way  to  the  townland  of  Drinimure 
to  evict  therefrom  the  only  evil-disposed  tenant  on 
that  part  of  the  estate,  widow  Cormac  and  her  idiot 
child. 

The  poor  woman  had  had  a  succession  of  fainting 
fits  from  the  time  she  discovered  her  beloved  and 
only  child  was  bereft  of  reason,  and  now  lay  very 

*  See  Caetleton  Papers,  November,  1869.— Partry  Evictions. 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLKNGOULAH.        195 

ill.  Every  exertion  had  been  made  by  Father 
O'Tool  (who  was  a  kinsman  of  her  late  husband), 
and  by  Father  Esmond,  to  have  this  virtuous  and 
injured  woman  left  in  her  home ;  but  the  rev 
erend  lord  was  inexorable.  A  widow  lady  who 
lived  a  mile  or  two  from  this  place,  but  who  hap 
pily  was  a  tenant  to  the  Dublin  Mining  Company, 
brought  a  car  with  a  feather-bed,  protected  as  far  as 
possible  from  the  incessant  down-pour,  and  placed 
upon  it  the  dying  woman  and  her  idiot  daughter. 
She  carried  them  to  her  home,  and  tended  them 
carefully  and  lovingly  as  became  a  Christian,  for 
which  may  God  forever  bless  her. 

Besides  the  military  and  police  present  to  over 
awe  the  just  indignation  of  an  outraged  people, 
Margin  was  there  on  his  black  pony,  and  his  right- 
hand  man,  Faulkner,  the  Bible-reader.  A  fiendish 
grin  seemed  to  lurk  around  the  mouths  of  the 
vile  pair,  upon  perceiving  which  Mrs.  Dargan,  the 
widow  lady  above  referred  to,  walked  up  to  Margin 
and  told  him  whatever  might  be  the  fate  of  Mrs. 
Cormac,  she  (Mrs.  Dargan)  would  live  to  see  his 
power  laid  in  the  dust,  for  she  warned  him  his  judg 
ment  was  not  far  off. 

He  laughed  scornfully,  but  her  words  came  liber 
ally  true.  Poor  Mrs.  Cormac  lingered  four  weeks 


396         THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAII. 

on  a  sick  bed,  and  on  Christmas  Eve  her  Heavenly 
Father  sent  his  angels  to  carry  this  poor  victim  of  a 
landlord's  intolerance  to  the  throne  prepared  for  her 
in  His  own  celestial  kingdom.  Fortified  for  her 
journey  by  the  reception  of  the  holy  sacraments,  and 
with  the  venerable  Father  Esmond  giving  her  the 
absolution  for  the  dying,  she  peacefully  drew  her 
last  sigh. 

All  day  on  the  festival  of  Christmas  poor  Norah 
watched  beside  the  bed  on  which  lay  the  silent, 
wasted  form  of  her  loved  mother.  She  would  smile 
and  courtesy  to  the  candles,  to  the  crucifix  at  the 
head  of  the  bed,  and  to  the  neighbors  as  they  came 
noiselessly  in  ;  then,  fixing  her  eyes  upon  her  mother 
she  would  sing  in  a  subdued  tone  a  verse  from  a 
beautiful  Christmas  carol  taught  her  by  the  nuns : 

"  God  rest  ye  all  good  Christians, 
Upon  this  blessed  morn 
The  Lord  of  all  good  Christians 
Was  of  a  woman  born. 
Now  all  your  sorrows  He  doth  heal. 
Your  sins  He  takes  away ; 
For  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour 
Was  born  on  Christmas  day." 

No  one  remembered  to  have  told  her  it  was 
Christmas  day ;  but  with  that  intuitive  knowledge 
peculiar  to  idiots  she  seemed  to  know  and  compre 
hend  it  all.  Might  it  be  that  those  sinless  children 
of  earth,  who  are  dcbarre  1  from  worldly  wisdom, 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        197 

being  more  akin  to  the  angels,  derive  knowledge 
from  them?  Who  can  fathom?  On  the  feast  of 
St.  Stephen,  the  first  martyr,  the  bell  in  the  great 
elm  tree  of  Tinmanogue  Chapel  tolled  mournful 
sounds  through  the  snow-covered  groves  and  ravines 
of  those  beautiful  hills.  How  sadly  they  fell  on  the 
hearts  of  those  crowded  in  small  rooms  in  the  villa 
ges,  who  but  a  few  weeks  before  were  the  occupants 
of  comfortable  farm-houses  now  levelled  with  the 
earth  !  Not  a  few  wished  to  be  laid  to  rest  in  that 
old  familiar  graveyard  whither  the  neighbors  were 
with  measured  tread  conveying  a  widow  of  the  once 
princely  house  of  Cormac ! 

Well,  to  return  to  the  26th  of  November. 

After  the  noble  exploit  of  levelling  the  house  of 
the  widow,  and  driving  her  and  her  idiot  child  upon 
the  charity  of  the  faithful,  the  great  army  marched 
in  all  the  pride  of  military  pomp  to  the  townlands 
of  Drissmore,  Tinmanogue  and  Ardmore.  House 
after  house  was  levelled,  and  the  occupants  flung  out 
like  weeds  on  the  highway.  Two  children,  sick  with 
the  scarlet  fever,  were  carried  out  by  the  bailiffs 
and  laid  in  the  ditch  with  hardly  any  covering, 
while  their  mother,  a  poor  widow,  awoke  the  echoes 
with  her  cries.  One  of  them  died  during  the  night. 

"  Their  cot  was  unroofed,  yet  they  strove  to  hide 
In  its  walla  till  the  fever  was  passed : 


198        THE  BYKNKS  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

Their  crime  was  found  out,  and  the  cold  ditch  side 
Was  their  hospital  at  last. 
Slowly  they  went  to  the  poor-house  and  grave, 
But  the  Lord  they  bent  to  their  souls  will  save." 

Some  of  the  best  dwellings  and  the  choicest  farms 
were  reserved  for  the  pets  of  the  landlord. 

Always  desiring  to  appear  humane  and  merciful 
while  he  played  the  tyrant,  Lord  Biggs  racked  his 
brain  to  devise  some  excuse  for  evicting  Toney  Byrne, 
whom  he  knew  the  whole  country  regarded  as  the 
rightful  owner  of  those  broad  acres  and  that  stately 
castle  which  he  desecrated  by  his  hypocritical  pres 
ence. 

The  name  of  an  O'Byrne  was  hateful  to  his  ears, 
and  he  vowed  mentally  to  get  rid  of  the  whole 
"  nest  of  vipers  "  off  the  estate.  If  little  Patrick 
had  lived  all  would  be  easy  enough  ;  but  now  Andy 
and  Mike  were  too  much  grown  to  go  to  school,  and 
Winnie's  children  were  too  young.  What  was  to 
be  done  ?  He  consulted  Margin,  and  that  worthy 
individual  came  at  once  to  the  rescue.  He  advised 
his  lordship  to  send  Bible-readers  to  instruct  such 
families  as  had  no  children  fit  for  school,  and  to  be 
guided  by  their  treatment  of  those  "  Apostolic 
men  ;"  "  for  I  think,  my  lord,  with  all  due  respect 
for  your  lordship's  better  judgment,  these  adults, 

iiiir  (according  to  nature)  nearer  their  end  than 


THE   BVJiNES    OF    GLEtfGOULAlf.  199 

the  younger  ones,  require  as  much,  yea,  even  more, 
to  be  regaled  and  strengthened  by  '  the  Word.' >: 

"  Thou  art  a  very  Solomon,  my  good  Margin," 
exclaimed  Lord  Biggs  in  an  ecstasy;  "  it  is  a  most 
sage  advice,  and  shall  be  acted  upon  without  delay. 
Send  Faulkner  to  me." 

Margin  went  off  gleefully,  rubbing  his  hands  as 
was  his  wont  when  pleased  with  himself. 

Next  day  Faulkner  commenced  his  labors.  He 
was  ordered  to  go  every  day  to  certain  families 
named,  and  to  read  and  expound  for  them  the  Holy 
Scriptures.  Toney  Byrne  saw  immediately  the  drift 
of  this  proceeding.  He  accordingly  took  every 
day  to  the  fields  his  two  sons,  and  kept  them 
by  him.  He  enjoined  his  wife  to  keep  her  ears 
stuffed  with  cotton  or  wool,  and  to  continue  what 
ever  employment  she  was  at,  never  heeding  the  ex 
pounder. 

Things  continued  thus  for  a  while.  But  one  day 
Andy  complained  of  feeling  sick,  and  came  home 
from  the  field  about  eleven  o'clock  for  the  purpose 
of  lying  down  on  the  bed. 

Faulkner  had  just  finished  his  exposition  and  was 
leaving,  when  he  espied  the  scapular  which  Mrs. 
Byrne  usually  wore,  and  which  had  escaped  from 
her  dress.  Like  a  tiger  he  sprang  forward,  and,  with- 


200       THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

out  a  word  of  warning,  tore  it  from  her  neck.*  Mrs. 
Byrne  screamed,  and  Andy,  jumping  on  the  Bible- 
reader,  pounded  him  until  he  cried  for  mercy.  An 
dy  then  seized  his  Bible,  tore  it  in  flitters,  and  cast 
both  it  and  the  expounder  out  of  the  back  door  un 
til  he  landed  them  on  a  heap  of  manure  in  the  pig 
yard.  This  sealed  the  doom  of  the  Byrnes,  but  To- 
ney  never  regretted  it.  He  would  always  avoid 
quarrels ;  but  when  the  proper  time  came  for  defend 
ing  the  right  he  was  not  the  one  to  flinch. 

Lord  Biggs  professed  to  act  with  great  leniency  in 
not  prosecuting  the  Byrnes  after  such  atrocious  con 
duct,  merely  contenting  himself  with  dispossessing 
such  evil-disposed,  disorderly  tenants  from  his  estate. 

*  See  Partry  Evictions. 


CHAPTER  XYI. 

THE  sorrow  and  compassion  felt  for  the  Byrnes 
was  greater  than  for  all  the  other  tenantry  put  to 
gether.  Loud  were  the  wail  ings  and  deep  the 
curses  when  "  notice  to  quit"  was  served  on  Anthony 
Byrne.  A  day  or  two  before  the  arrival  of  "the 
crow-bar  brigade,"  every  species  of  vehicle,  from  Mr. 
De  Courcy's  carriage  to  the  market-carts  of  the 
farmers  on  the  neighboring  estates,  and  jaunting- 
cars  from  the  towns  around,  were  tendered  to  Toney 
Byrne  to  convey  him  and  his  family  away  before 
the  bailiffs  would  come. 

His  daughter  Margaret  Donohoe  and  her  husband 
also  came  and  brought  three  wagons  to  convey  her 
parents  and  brothers,  also  Winnie  and  Bryan  Demp- 
sey  and  their  little  family,  to  their  home — not  wish 
ing  Margin  to  have  the  satisfaction  of  putting  them 
out.  These  testimonies  of  respect  and  affection 
deeply  touched  the  heart  of  Toney,  and  made  his 
eyes  fill  to  overflowing  ;  but  he  stoutly  refused  to  be 
treated  differently  from  the  other  tenants. 

"  No,  sir ;  I  humbly  thank  you  from  my  heart 

9* 


202         THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

out  for  your  great  consideration  and  wonderful 
kindness,  but  I  can't  accept  of  it.  I  am  but  a  sim 
pie  poor  man,  like  the  rest,  and  if  I  come  of  the  old 
stock  it  is  only  another  reason  why  I  should  stand 
by  my  people.  He  is  but  a  sorry  captain,  sir,  that 
abandons  his  men  in  the  hour  of  danger,  and  it 
would  badly  become  an  O 'Byrne  to  desert  the  old 
neighbors." 

Such  was  the  substance  of  Toney's  reply  to  all ; 
and  this  noble  unselfishness  but  made  the  wail  of 
grief  the  deeper  when  he  stepped  out  in  the  torrents 
of  rain  that  chill  November  morning,  leaning  on  the 
arm  of  his  daughter  Margaret — the  rest  of  the  family 
following  in  silence,  except  poor  Mrs.  Byrne,  whose 
half-stifled  sobs  were  echoed  by  the  women  around. 

When  he  got  a  short  distance  up  the  hill  Toney 
stopped,  determined  to  watch  to  the  last  the  destruc 
tion  of  his  home,  but  it  was  not  levelled.  Margin 
after  fastening  the  windows  and  doors,  put  the  key 
in  his  pocket. 

A  fortnight  subsequently  it  was  taken  posses 
sion  of  by  Sandy  McGlauren,  the  Scotch  steward. 
Toney  and  his  family  were  carried  by  Margaret 
and  her  husband  to  Coolanish,  where  they  were  joy 
fully  welcomed  by  all  the  Donohoes  and  their  hon 
est  neighbors,  and  where  they  tried  to  make  them- 


THE   BYKNES    OF    GLENGOULAII.  203 

selves  useful  as  possible  in  their  altered  sphere. 
Bryan  Dempsey,  Winnie,  their  children,  and  his 
blind  father  and  paralyzed  grandmother  were  also 
evicted  in  the  torrents  of  rain,  and  were  taken  by  a 
cousin  of  his  to  his  farm  some  eight  miles  distant. 

Subsequently  Bryan  Dempsey  rented  a  small  cot 
tage  and  garden  in  the  suburbs  of  Ardmore,  and  as 
he  had  still  left  a  horse,  cart,  and  a  couple  of  cows, 
he  worked  about  with  the  neighboring  farmers  and 
kept  his  family  pretty  comfortable. 

Every  one  vied  in  showing  kindness  to  Bryan,  for 
the}7  all  loved  and  respected  him  for  his  affectionate 
attention  to  his  decrepid  relatives,  as  well  as  for  his 
cheerful  countenance  and  child-like  simplicity  of 
character.  Winnie,  too,  was  a  great  favorite,  and 
was  as  dutiful  and  respectful  to  her  father-in-law  arid 
to  old  granny  as  Bryan  could  desire. 

Many  of  the  other  tenants  opened  little  shops  in 
the  provision  line  and  public  houses  in  the  neigh 
boring  towns  and  villages.  Many  more  emigrated 
to  America,  where  the  yellow  fever  and  the  malaria 
of  the  swamps,  where  they  worked  building  rail 
ways  or  canals,  soon  hurried  them  to  the  grave. 

Oh  !  if  the  record  of  each  could  only  be  kept, 
what  a  tale  it  would  reveal!  But  I  must  narrate 
the  events  that  befell  the  Byrnes. 


204:  THE    BYKNES    OF    GLENGOULAH. 

Toney  Byrne  rented  a  few  acres  of  land  from 
Tom  Donohoe,  for  he  would  not  live  in  a  state  of 
dependence  while  able  to  work,  so  they  got  on  in 
peace  and  virtue,  and  blessed  God  for  the  comforts 
they  enjoyed  ;  but  his  heart  yearned  in  spite  of  him 
for  the  hills  of  Wicklow,  which  were  dear  to  him  as 
beautiful  Grenada  to  the  sorrowing  Moor,  and  for 
the  old  homestead  in  Glengoulah,  which  was  his 
Alhamhra. 

One  night,  the  first  week  in  January,  that  same 
homestead  was  discovered  to  be  on  fire ;  and  while  the 
Scotchman  and  his  family  were  trying  to  extinguish 
the  flames  in  one  place  it  suddenly  broke  out  with 
even  more  violence  in  another  and  another.  And  as 
the  wind  was  in  a  frolicsome  humor  that  night,  he 
roared  up  the  broad  chimneys  and  danced  along  ;he 
flaming  roof,  sticking  out  tongues  of  flame  through  the 
window-frames,  and,  rolling  up  the  burning  thatch, 
carried  off  great  bundles,  letting  them  spitefully  fall 
in  the  farm-yard,  where  the  cattle  were  assembled. 
He  played  all  sorts  of  pranks  in  the  hay-loft  and  sta 
ble — going  wild  with  delight  when  the  terrified 
horses  reared  and  plunged  with  extended  eye-balls. 
The  neighbors  came  running  from  all  sides,  but 
whether  they  got  suddenly  weak  at  the  prospect,  or 
from  whatever  cause,  they  gave  but  little  assistance 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        205 

in  saving  the  house,  contenting  themselves  with  car 
rying  out  of  danger  the  cattle,  farming  implements, 
etc.,  and  in  preventing  the  fire  from  spreading  be 
yond  the  premises.  The  flames  ceased  not  until  the 
home  of  Toney  Byrne,  from  which  the  poor  and  the 
stranger  never  turned  without  receiving  comfort, 
was  laid  in  ashes.  The  pretty  garden  and  flower 
beds  were  trampled  under  the  feet  of  men  and  horses, 
while  the  beautiful  evergreens,  the  gift  of  Mr.  De 
Courcy,  stood  like  charred  and  blackened  sentinels 
presiding  over  the  destruction  of  the  smiling  garden 
they  once  contributed  to  adorn. 

His  reverend  lordship  turned  up  the  whites  of  hia 
eyes  in  holy  horror  at  the  depravity  of  the  human 
heart,  declaring  he  made.no  doubt  it  was  "that 
wily  Byrne  who  seA^jiis  emissaries  to  destroy  the 
house  he  could  no  longer  occupy,  and  he  felt  con 
vinced  he  was  instigated  to  commit  the  deed  by  that 
old  pri«st,  who  would,  of  course,  give  him  absolution 
for  it." 

The  real  truth  was,  poor  Toney  was  almost  the 
only  one  who  did  not  rejoice  when  the  news  spread 
that  Byrne's  farm-house  was  burned,  and  that  Sandy 
had  to  find  another  home. 

"  Divil's  cure  to  him  P'-was  the  invariable  response. 
"  He  grudged  a  dacent  man  the  last  foothold  he  had 


206         THE  BYBNE3  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

on  wliat  belonged  to  all  his  generations  since  the 
time  of  the  Phynasians.  He  was  etarnally  stickin' 
his  nose  about  Byrne's  farm,  and  measurin'  the  house 
wid  his  eye,  and  he  could  not  speed  better  bad-luck 
to  all  of  his  sort." 

"Be  my  conscience,  then,  boys,  ye  have  no  raison 
to  rejoice,"  cried  Lame  Jeny,  "  for  if  ye  knew  but 
all,  its  just  what  Sandy  wanted.  M}"self  thinks  as 
the  divil  tak.es  care  of  his  own,  his  black  majesty 
set  fire  to  it  to  oblige  him.  Didn't  he  tell  Perry 
Deacon,  the  bailiff,  in  my  own  hearin',  though  he 
didn't  see  me,  that  he  liked  the  farm  mighty  well, 
but  found  the  house  unconvanient ;  the  ladies  of 
his  family  would  like  a  better  house." 

"  Oh  !  then  the  divil  choke  his  impudence !  The 
ladies,  eneagh  !  Ha,  ha,  ha !  Throughth,  its  enough 
to  make  a  dog  laugh,  let  alone  a  Christian." 

"  Well,  take  it  aisey  now,  avic !  I'll  lay  my  life 
Lord  Biggs  (ahem,  God  bless  the  mark !)  will  be 
soon  buildin'  him  a  fine  house  to  compensate  him 
for  the  wickedness  of  these  house-burnin'  Papists ; 
and  ten  to  one  but  Margin  will  be  layin'  a  present 
ment  before  the  grand  jury  to  levy  the  expenses  off 
the  county  as  it  was  the  work  of  an  incendiary. 
Take  Jerry  O'Hara's  word  for  it,  ye'll  be  made 
amenable  for  this  crime,  and  Lord  Biggs,  Margin 


THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.         207 

and  Sandy  will  pnt  their  tongues  in  their  cheek. 
My  friends,  they're  all  arcades  ambo  /  but,  as  ye 
don't  understand  Greek,  I'll  be  biddin'  ye  good 
morn  in'." 

\Ve  may  well  surmise  that  this  state  of  things, 
made  secret  societies  flourish  where  they  never  took 
root  before.  Nightly  meetings  were  held  in  church 
yards,  ruined  buildings,  and  oftenest  on  the  heap  of 
rubbish  which  marked  the  spot  of  a  once  happy 
home.  Those  societies  were  unknown  in  Gleniroulah 
during  the  agency  of  Mr.  De  Courcy,  while  they 
were  in  full  blast  in  the  neighboring  mining  districts 
under  the  management  of  Margin. 

Now  all  the  evicted  tenantry  were  invited  to  join 
them.  Many  did  so,  and  others  refused  to  have  any 
thing  to  do  with  midnight  assemblies  and  secret 
oaths.  Among  the  latter  was  Bryan  Dempsey,  who 
would  never  listen  to  their  solicitations.  As  to  To- 
ney  Byrne,  they  never  even  dared  to  name  it  to  him, 
his  religious  principles  being  too  well  known. 

One  night  a  meeting  of  this  kind  was  held,  and 
"  the  Right  Reverend  Samuel  Wilson  Biggs,  Lord 
Bishop  of  Ardihore  and  Glengoulah  by  the  grace 
of — Act  of  Parliament,  was  indicted  before  Judge 
Starlight  for  the  wilful  murder  of  the  widow  Cor- 
mac,  the  widow  Hynes's  child,  and  Peter,  Mary  and 


20S        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENQOULAH. 

Bridget  Flannigan,  besides  many,  many  others,  too 
numerous  to  mention  ;  also,  for  depriving  Norah 
Cormacof  her  reason  by  brutal  treatment  in  forcing 
her  to  attend  his  proselytizing  school,  etc.,  etc." 

Witnesses  were  called  and  duly  examined,  but  as 
these  cases  are  already  known  to  the  reader  it  is  un 
necessary  to  repeat  them  here. 

The  last  witness  who  gave  his  testimony  was  Mi 
chael  Flannigau.  He  was  an  old  man,  with  bent 
form,  and  hair  white  as  snow.  He  tottered  forward 
and  took  from  his  breast  pocket  a  soiled  and  torn 
letter,  blotched  in  many  places  by  the  blistering 
tears  dropped  upon  it.  The  sight  of  it  sent  a  shiver 
through  his  aged  frame,  and,  as  soon  as  he  could 
speak,  he  exclaimed : 

"  Boys,  ye  all  know  my  fine,  manly  boy  Peter, 
turned  of  three  and  twenty,  and  my  two  putty  little 
girls  that  couldn't  brook  to  see  their  mother  and  me 
in  hardship.  When  we  were  put  out  of  the  ould 
place  they  all  emigrated  to  America,  lavin'  us  for  a 
while  on  my  cousin  Jack  Flannigan's  floor.  A  good 
friend  he  ever  proved  to  me  and  mine — God  bless 
him  for  it !  We  were  only  one  week  turned  out 
when  they  went  to  America.  Read  this  letter ;  they 
wrote  it  to  the  mother  and  me  from  Liverpool." 

One  of  the  men  stepped  forward  and  read  the  let- 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        209 

ter.  It  was,  as  usual  with  Irish  letters,  brimful  ot 
the  heart,  every  second  line  being  dear  father  and 
mother :  "  Don't  fret  for  us,  dear  father  and  mother ; 
we  are  young  and  strong,  thanks  be  to  God  for  it. 
We  will  soon  earn  a  comfortable  home  for  ye  both, 
dear  father  and  mother — a  home  where  old  Bigga 
can't  get  us,  and  ye'll  end  your  days  in  pace,  plaze 
God.  Keep  up  your  hearts,  dear  father  and  mother ; 
time  wont  be  long  passin',  we'll  soon  see  one  an 
other  again.  Pray  to  God  and  his  Blessed  Mother 
for  us — we're  to  sail  to-morrow,  dear  father  and 
mother,  in  a  fine  ship  called  the  'Ocean  Spray.' 
They  say  she  goes  a'most  as  fast  as  a  steamer,  and 
looks  grand  on  the  water.  God  bless  yo-u,  dear  pa 
rents  ;  you'll  soon  hear  again,  plaze  God,  from  your 
lovin'  children.  Till  death. 

"  PETER,  MART,  AND  BRIDGET  FLANNIGAN." 
After  a  few  moments  the  old  man,  whose  head 
was  bowed  to  his  knees  and  covered  with  his  hands 
while  the  letter  was  reading,  rose  up  again  and  said, 
in  a  trembling  voice :  "  My  children  never  seen  the 
American  shore :  the  ship  went  down  in  the  Irish 
say,  where  she  came  agin  a  steamer  in  a  fog,  and 
over  four  hundred  emigrants  perished.*  My  heart's 
treasures  were  drowned  in  sight  of  the  very  hills 

*  A  fact. 


210         THE  BYRNES  OF  GLEXGOULAFI. 

where  they  were  born  and  played  through  many  a 
summer  day. 

"  I  buried  their  mother  in  three  weeks  in  Tinma- 
nogue — her  heart  broke;  and  now  I'm  childless, 
homeless,  and  well  nigh  upon  seventy  years.  If 
they  were  left  in  the  ould  place,  and  not  forced  by 
a  tyrant  to  transport  themselves,  my  children  would 
be  alive  to-day ;  and  I  now  accuse  ould  Biggs  of  be 
ing  their  murderer." 

"  What  did  he  eject  you  for  ? "  asked  Judge  Star 
light.  "  Did  you  pay  your  rent  ?  "  "  Yes,  to  the 
farthin' ;  here  is  my  last  resate." 

"  Well,  you  had  no  child  young  enough  to  go  to 
school.  I  don't  see  what  excuse  he  had  to  put  you 
out."  "  The  bailiff  told  me  he  said  I  was  a  danger 
ous  character,  because  I  lent  Father  O'Tool  a 
cart"  * 

Curses  loud  and  deep  fell  from  every  lip.  Flan- 
nigan  resumed  :  "  I  know  an  ould  man  like  me, 
wid  one  foot  in  the  grave,  ought  not  to  be  thin  kin' 
of  revenge,  but  I  can't  help  it.  I  wander  over  the 
ruins  of  my  ould  home  and  think  I  see  before  me 
the  fire-side,  and  my  children  sittin'  round  it  in 
comfort  still ;  then  I  start  up.  And  when  the  wind 
shakes  the  trees  I  think  I  hear  them  cryin'  and 

*  See  Partry  Evictions,  1860 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOCLAH.         211 

strugglin'  for  life  in  the  dark,  deep  say  !  O  God  pity 
and  look  down  upon  me  !  "  Tears  streamed  from 
the  old  man's  eyes,  and  in  that  rough  assembly, 
where  all  were  ready  for  deeds  of  violence — per 
chance  some  already  stained  with  blood — every 
heart  was  touched,  and  many  a  coarse  sleeve  was 
drawn  hastily  across  the  eyes.  Judge  Starlight 
nrose,  summed  up  the  evidence,  and  called  upon  the 
jury  to  decide  upon  his  guilt  or  innocence.  A  ver 
dict  of  guilty  was  rendered  in  five  minutes.  Then 
the  judge  in  a  solemn  voice  pronounced  upon  him 
"  the  sentence  of  Death ! — to  be  executed  at  the 
earliest  and  best  opportunity  by  some  one  of  the 
present  assembly  allotted  and  sworn  for  the  purpose." 
Then  followed  the  drawing  of  lots ;  and  one  being 
appointed,  a  terrible  oath  was  put  to  him  that,  with 
out  fear  or  pity,  he  would  execute  that  sentence  zs> 
directed  the  first  opportunity,  he  being  furnished 
bv  the  society  with  fire-arms  for  the  purpose. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

CHRISTMAS  came  with  a  great  fall  of  snow,  the 
greatest  that  had  been  seen  for  a  number  of  years ; 
but  Glengoulah  Castle  was  unusually  gay.  The 
lord  bishop  who  ruled  there  had  gone  to  visit 
his  home  in  England  the  previous  summer,  taking 
with  him  her  right  reverend  ladyship  and  his  two 
sisters. 

They  returned  in  time  to  enjoy  the  Christmas  fes 
tivities,  and  brought  with  them  a  large  party  of 
fashionable  visitors.  Among  those  visitors  were  two 
young  ladies  in  the  bloom  of  youth  and  beauty, 
nieces  of  her  ladyship.  They  were  the  daughters 
of  Sir  Harold  Menville,  ofMenville  Hall,  Middlesex, 
and  their  mother  was  sister  to  her  reverend  ladyship. 
The  elder  of  those  girls,  though  a  very  estimable 
young  lady,  was  a  stately  beauty,  and  a  good  deal 
more  worldly  than  her  sister  ;  but  Clara  was  a  laugh 
ter-loving,  mischievous  young  brunette,  all  impulse, 
and  with  a  heart  brimful  of  merriment  and  kindly 
feelings.  They  were  enchanted  with  the  lovely 
scenery,  even  though  the  charming  hills  were  covered 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH.  2 13 

with  snow,  and  the  swollen  Ovoca  stole  darkly  and 
silently  along  through  the  leafless  groves.  There 
was  a  dash  of  romance  about  their  excursions  up  the 
mount ains  that  pleased  their  fancy,  and  the  pic 
turesque  costume  of  the  peasantry  set  them  into  ec- 
stacies,  especially  Clara.  She  loved  to  go  into  the 
farmhouses  and  cottages  and  converse  with  the  in 
mates,  especially  the  children.  Soon  finding  out  she 
was  of  a  different  stamp  from  the  Biggs  tribe,  the 
women  told!  her  and  her  sister  of  the  many  visits 
paid  them  by  the  Misses  Biggs  to  draw  them  from 
their  faith.  Though  very  indignant  to  hear  it,  both 
sisters  made  it  a  subject  of  amusement  to  them  dur 
ing  their  stay.  They  first  complained  to  their  aunt, 
hoping  she  would  put  a  stop  to  it ;  but  they  found 
she  was  a  party  in  the  scheme,  and,  to  their  great 
regret,  they  were  forbidden  to  visit  any  more  in  Irish 
cottages  unless  accompanied  by  the  Misses  Biggs. 

Clara  vowed  revenge,  and  never  ceased  to  tanta 
lize  the  spinster  sisters.  She  would  irreverently  sing 
snatches  of  hymns  through  her  nose ;  quote  all  the 
passages  she  could  hunt  up  in  the  Bible  which  con 
demned  women  preachers,  and  recount  for  their  ed 
ification  the  number  of  their  aristocratic  friends  in 
England  who  had  of  late  embraced  Catholicism,  and 

o  / 

wish  she  had  courage  enough  to  follow  their  example, 


214:  THE   BYKNES   OB1   GLENGOULAH. 

as  she  certainly  would  before  long  ;  not  that  she  had 
really  ever  bothered  herself  on  a  subject  so  serious, 
but  just  for  mischief. 

The  Misses  Biggs,  though  boiling  over,  were  forced 
to  be  silent. 

There  was  to  be  a  grand  dinner-party  on  Christ 
mas  day  at  the  castle,  and  a  great  ball  on  St. 
Stephen's  day.  Numbers  of  guests  had  been  invited 
— some  from  Dublin — for  the  occasion;  and  the  cas 
tle  shone  resplendent  from  the  servants'  hall  to  the 
battlements,  from  which  the  "  Union  Jack  "  proudly 
floated. 

On  the  night  of  Christmas  eve  the  English  guests 
were  all  assembled  in  the  great  drawing-room  of 
the  castle.  Muffed  chandeliers  shed  a  flood  of  mel 
low  light  on  the  silken  hangings  of  pale  amber. 
Carpets  of  the  softest  Persian  texture,  gorgeous 
mirrors  shaded  off  with  French  lace,  inlaid  tables 
of  inestimable  value,  and  luxurious  ottomans,  made 
this  noble  apartment  a  tit  abode  for  royalty.  Splen 
did  fires  blazed  in  the  ample  grates  of  polished  steel 
that  stood  within  mantel  pieces  of  the  most  elabor 
ate  antique  carving,  each  of  which  was  in  itself  a 
gem  of  art.  At  one  of  the  inlaid  tables,  in  a  nook 
beside  the  fire,  sat  his  lordship  with  the  Honorable 
Augustus  Kiskdale.  Between  them  was  a  Chinese 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENQOULAH.        215 

chess-board  of  exquisite  workmanship — both  were 
most  intent  on  the  game.  Dowagers  and  "  men  of 
high  degree"  played  at  whist  or  chatted  in  groups 
around  the  room.  A  bunch  of  young  beauties  were 
laughing  merrily  with  a  troop  of  young  military 
gentlemen. 

Miss  Menville  was  turning  the  leaves  of  a  scrap- 
book,  which  was  gallantly  held  for  her  by  a  youthful 
officer  of  artillery.  Her  sister  Clara  was  seated  at 
a  magnificent  harp,  the  strings  of  which  she  softly 
swept  with  a  master  touch,  often  stopping  to  enjoy 
a  burst  of  merry  laughter  at  the  remarks  of  a  stiff, 
formal-looking  baronet,  who  was  turning  the  leaves 
of  her  music  and  giving  utterance  to  some  sombre 
love  speeches  of  his  own  peculiar  invention.  Here 
was  a  picture  of  life,  with  all  its  comforts — with  all 
its  luxuries. 

Without,  a  wild  storm  was  raging.  The  wind 
roared  up  the  chimneys,  crashed  furiously  against 
the  heavy  stone  casements,  and  ran  tearing  and 
tumbling  along  the  battlements  as  if  meditating  the 
destruction  of  the  whole  building.  Then  would 
come  a  lull  of  ominous  import,  as  if  the  elements 
were  mustering  their  forces  for  a  fresh  attack. 
Hark  !  What's  that  ?  A  wild  gust  of  snow,  sleet, 
wind,  and  driving  rain,  came  gushing  madly  against 


216         THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

the  shutters  of  the  drawing-room,  which  however 
were  of  great  strength  and  securely  fastened,  but 
they  could  not  shut  out  a  blinding  flash  of  forked 
lightning,  followed  instantaneously  by  a  tremendous 
crash  of  thunder  which  rocked  the  castle  to  its  foun 
dations  and  made  the  high-born  guests  turn  pale  and 
shiver  with  fear.  His  right  reverend  lordship,  who 
had  just  captured  a  "king's  bishop  "  from  his  oppo 
nent,  covered  his  face  with  his  trembling  hands. 

Another  clap  and  crash  on  the  battlements  split 
the  flag-staff  through  the  centre,  tore  the  Union 
Jack  in  shreds,  and  brought  down  a  stack  of  chim 
neys  in  the  back  part  of  the  building.  The  ladies 
gathered  in  a  terrified  group  around  the  fire-place 
near  which  his  lordship  sat,  excepting  the  Misses 
Menville,  who  quite  enjoyed  the  scene.  The  mirth- 
loving  Clara  fairly  danced  with  glee.  "  Oh,  how 
grand !  "  she  cried.  "  Howl  on,  old  storm  ;  1  love 
your  music!  Oh,  for  a  ramble  up  the  mountains 
to-night !  "What  say  you,  Sir  William  ? "  she  said 
to  her  grim  admirer,  who  sat  stiff  and  pale  with 
fright. 

A  rueful  smile  lighted  up  the  baronet's  face. 

"  You  are  full  of  mirth  to-night,  Miss  Clara." 

"  Upon  my  honor  I  am  perfectly  serious,  sir  baro 
net."  And  the  young  mischief  dropped  him  a  stately 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        217 

courtesy.  "  I  command  you  as  a  true  and  faithful 
knight  to  follow  me.  Will  you  ?  or  will  you  not  ? " 

Before  he  had  time  to  fashion  a  reply,  sundry 
screams  and  the  flight  of  the  ladies  to  the  farthest 
corner  of  the  drawing-room  made  both  turn.  The 
door  had  been  softly  opened,  and  on  its  threshold 
stood  a  slight  girlish  form  with  bare  and  bleeding 
feet,  dressed  in  a  long  white  gown,  her  dark  chest 
nut  hair  flowed  down  to  her  waist,  and  she  was  per 
fectly  drenched  by  the  storm. 

Even  Clara  for  a  moment  shrank  back  appalled 
by  the  apparition.  Advancing  into  the  apartment 
she  seemed  to  take  no  notice  of  the  company,  but 
smiled  and  courtesied  to  the  chandeliers  one  by  one. 
Just  then  the  great  bell  in  the  tower  chimed  foi 
midnight.  All  at  once  she  burst  forth  in  a  wild 
sweet  voice  : 

"  God  rest  ye.  merry  Christians, 

Upon  this  blessed  morn 
The  Lord  of  all  good  Christiana 

Was  of  a  woman  bora. 
Now  all  your  sorrows  he  doth  heal, 

Yonr  sins  he  takes  away, 
For  Jesna  Christ  our  Saviour 

Was  boru  on  Christmas  Day. 

It  was  poor  Norah  Cormac.  No  one  had  seen 
her  enter  the  castle,  but  she  came  unheeding  the 
wild  elements,  and  stood  face  to  face  with  the  wretch 
who  had  robbed  her  of  home,  kindred,  and  reason 


218  THE    BYRNES    OF    GLEXGOULAII. 

He  saw  her  now  by  the  light  of  the  chandeliers  and 
knew  her  perfectly.  His  eyes  scowled  like  a  demon's, 
and  he  cowered  over  his  inlaid  table  and  shaded  his 
wan  face  with  his  hands.  JN"orah  heeded  him  not — 
she  was  still  smiling,  nodding,  and  conversing  with 
the  soft  lights  shining  down  on  her  dripping  form. 

Clara  was  the  first  to  approach  her.  Being  satis 
fied  it  was  no  spirit,  she  at  once  surmised  her  to  be 
some  poor  idiot,  and  her  heart  was  touched  with 
pity.  Advancing  toward  her  she  said  :  ki  What  is  the 
matter  with  you,  my  poor  girl  ?  You  are  thoroughly 
drenched ;  wont  you  have  some  dry  clothes  and  a 
good  supper  ?  Norah  again  sang  her  favorite  hymn, 
"  God  rest  ye  all,"  etc. 

The  ladies  were  quite  horrified  when  Clara  ap 
proached  the  unearthly-looking  being,  who  seemed 
so  unconscious  of  the  presence  in  which  she  stood. 
"When  they  saw,  however,  how  young  she  was,  they 
began  to  revive,  and  her  pitiable  condition  excited 
their  commiseration.  Her  reverend  ladyship  rang 
for  the  servants,  greatly  to  the  relief  of  her  reverend 
lord,  who  would  have  given  a  goodly  sum  for  the  re 
moval  of  Norah.  The  servants  gathered  around  her 
in  a  group,  and  their  lady  ordered  them  to  take  her 
to  the  kitchen,  and  to  provide  her  with  dry,  warm 
clothes,  and  a  comfortable  supper ;  but  the  order 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        219 

was  easier  given  than  executed.  Norah  would  not 
move  a  step  for  all  their  entreaties ;  she  had  fixed 
her  attention  on  one  particular  globe  in  the  chande 
lier,  and  kept  nodding  and  speaking  rapidly  to  it  in 
a  low  tone. 

The  bishop  feared  to  speak,  but  he  motioned  to 
the  servants  to  carry  her  off  at  once.  The  burley 
coachman  was  selected  as  the  ablest,  though  he  ex 
hibited  the  strongest  symptoms  of  disgust  at  the 
idea  of  lifting  that  dripping  form  in  his  fine  clothes. 
"  My  heyes !  "  he  exclaimed ;  "  but  ain't  she  wet 
though  ?  my  welvet  smalls  and  silken  hose  will  be 
utterly  ruined  !  What  shall  I  do  ?  "  Hereupon  he 
heaved  a  deep  sigh  and  made  a  despairing  grab  at 
Norah.  In  an  instant  his  powdered  wig  was  flying 
into  the  fire,  and  his  eyes  blinded  by  a  dash  of  long 
wet  hair.  The  unfortunate  coachman  ran  for  his 
life  down  stairs,  upsetting  the  housemaid  in  his 
rapid  descent,  and  causing  such  fright  and  consterna 
tion  among  the  rest  of  the  servants  that  none  of 
them  would  enter  the  room  again  for  anybody's 
order. 


CHAPTER  XYIII. 

OLAKA  again  approached  the  maniac  girl  and  said, 
gently,  "  My  poor  child,  I  wish  to  be  your  friend," 
and  she  took  her  cold  wet  hand  in  hers;  "do  come 
with  me  to  the  warm  fire,  and  let  me  give  you  dry 
clothes.  Now  I  know  you  will  come  with  me,"  and 
she  tried  to  draw  her  gently.  Norah  was  like  a 
lamb  in  her  hands  until  she  moved ;  but  she  then  re 
sisted,  and  exclaimed  :  "  Oh,  no,  no !  I  could  not  eat 
here.  I  wont  have  dry  clothing !  I  will  never  be 
warm  again !  Oh  !  you  don't  know  where  I  was  to 
night.  When  the  wind  was  tearing  up  the  trees* 
and  the  thunder  crashing  as  if  all  the  heavens  were 
falling,  I  was  sitting  calm  and  quiet  on  her  grave 
singing !  You  did  not  know  her, — she's  gone  to  God ; 
she  died  this  night,  and  she  always  makes  me  sing 
that  hymn."  Here  she  again  sang  softly  "  God  rest 
ye,"  etc.  Clara  once  more  tried  to  draw  her  away  ; 
but  Norah  frowned,  and  again  cried  :  "  No,  no  ! 
Not  for  all  the  world  would  I  sit  by  his  fire !  If  I 
ate  a  bit  it  would  choke  me !  She  was  my  mother ; 
and  she  had  no  one  to  love  but  me.  I  sat  on  her 


THE  BYKNKS  OF  GLKNGOULAH.         221 

grave  to-night  in  Tinmanogue  in  all  the  storm,  and 
she  bid  me  come  and  see  him.  No  one  knows  how 
I  got  into  the  castle !  Ha,  ha,  ha !  I  wont  tell  that ; 
no,  no,  he'll  never  know  that !  Ha,  ha,  ha !  It  was 
he  sent  her  to  the  grave  and  left  me  lonely !"  And 
the  poor  girl  looked  so  woe-begone  up  in  Clara's  face 
that  the  young  lady's  eyes  filled  with  tears.  "  Who 
left  you  lonely,  my  poor  girl  ?" 

"  Biggs ;  old  Biggs  over  there !"  arid  she  tossed  her 
head  in  the  direction  of  the  splendid  chessboard, 
whose  kings  and  knights  now  lay  unheeded,  for  the 
whole  company  were  listening  in  breathless  silence 
to  the  wailings  of  the  young  maniac.  "  He's  a  bishop 
now,  they  say.  Ha,  ha,  ha !  He  turned  her  out  on 
the  road  as  cold  and  as  wet  a  day  as  this,  and  she 
died  from  it.  She  bid  rne  come  and  let  him  put  me 
out  again ;  and  then  I'll  go  home  to  God.  That's 
what  brought  me  here  to-night.  He  must  do  it 
himself  ;  I'll  make  him !  Ha,  ha,  ha !  God  rest 
ye,"  etc. 

"  My  poor  girl,  your  fears  are  groundless ;  the 
bishop  would  not  harm  you."  She  grasped  Clara's 
arm.  "  Not  harm  me  ?  You  don't  know  him.  He 
offered  my  mother  a  lease  forever  of  the  home  owned 
by  the  Cormacs  for  200  years  if  she'd  sell  my  soul  to 
the  Protestants,  but  she  would  not  do  it  for  all  the 


222        THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

gold  he  has,  and  he  put  her  out  in  the  torrents  of 
rain  in  her  sick  bed.  Mrs.  Dargan  took  us  both  to 
her  house  for  the  love  of  God,  but  my  mother  died 
on  Christinas  eve." 

"  But,  my  poor  child,  he  would  not  harm,  you." 
Clara's  tears  flowed  down  her  cheeks. 

"  I  will  tell  you  it  was  me  he  wanted.  Didn't  he 
send  Faulkner,  the  Bible-reader,  to  bring  me  along  to 
school  ?  But  he  couldn't  catch  me,  though.  Ha,  ha, 
ha!  He  chased  me;  but  he  couldn't  catch  me.  Ha, 
ha,  ha  !  When  I  think  of  it  I  laugh  'till  I  cry  again. 
I  thought  of  it  sitting  on  her  grave  to-night,  and  I 
roared  out  laughing,  only  the  thunder  smothered  my 
voice."  The  laugh  of  this  poor  maniac  was  perfectly 
appalling,  and  made  the  wretched  tyrant  shiver  with 
terror. 

Norah  continued  :  "  Do  you  know  what  I  did  ? 
That  lightning  flash  did  not  speed  quicker  through 
the  black  heavens  to-night  than  I  flew  till  I  got  to 
the  river  bank,  and  in  I  jumped.  It  was  high  water 
too,  and  I  was  swept  down,  down — I  don't  know  any 
more  ;  and  I  never  could  remember  anything  since. 
There  was  always  some  confusion  here"  (putting  her 
hands  to  her  temples),  "  but  it  all  came  back  to  me 
to-night — the  storm  brought  it  all  back,  and  she  told 
me  how  we  were  dragged  out  in  the  torrents  from 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        223 

our  home.  I  took  a  fancy  to  dress  in  white  always  ; 
I  think  it  a  pretty  dress."  (And  she  looked  down 
complacently  at,  her  wet  and  tattered  garment.) 
"  The  boys  used  to  call  me  white  lady,  some  of  them  ; 
others  called  me  crazy  Norah,  and  all  sorts  of  names, 
in  fun  ;  but  they  never  hurt  me."  Clara  caught  at 
the  idea.  "  Well,  ISTorah,  I  have  a  sweet  white  dress 
of  my  own,  wliich  I  will  give  you  ;  come,  let  us  try 
it  on,  and  see  if  it  will  fit."  Lord  Biggs  would  have 
given  half  his  estate  to  be  out  of  the  room,  but  he 
feared  to  stir.  Now,  however,  he  took  the  opportunity 
of  the  change  in  her  conversation,  and  was  gliding 
quietly  to  the  door.  In  a  twinkling  Norah  was  hold 
ing  on  to  his  arm  with  a  death  grasp.  His  teeth  ac 
tually  chattered  with  dread.  "  Ha,  ha,  ha !  Old 
Biggs !  did  you  think  you  could  escape  me  f  Do 
you  think  I  crossed  the  mountains  to-night  with 
torn  and  bleeding  feet,  in  all  the  wild  storm,  to  let 
you  oif  without  doing  her  bidding  ?  I'd  tear  you 
in  bits  easier  than  your  bull  dog  tore  my  dress,  if 
you  didn't  do  her  bidding  !  "  Her  eyes  gleamed  on 
him  with  a  maniac  tire  that  froze  the  blood  in  his 
veins.  "  She  bid  me  not  leave  the  castle  until  you 
put  me  out  in  the  torrents,  as  you  did  before  from 
our  home  ;  and  then  you'll  see  me  no  more,  for  God 
said  he'd  take  me  to  His  home  then.  Do  you  hear 


224:  THE   BYRNES    OF    GLKNGOULA.H. 

me,  Biggs  ? "   (And  she  shook  the  wretched  man  with 
that  supernatural  strength  peculiar  to  maniacs. 

"  Come,  come  on  !  God's  messengers  are  waiting 
for  me,  and  her  bidding  must  be  done." 

He  looked  imploringly  around.  A  young  officer 
made  an  adroit  movement  to  pinion  her  arms  be 
hind,  but  she  blinded  him,  as  she  did  the  burly 
coachman,  by  a  slap  of  her  long  wet  hair. 

All  drew  back  in  terror.  Clara  alone  seemed  to 
retain  her  presence  of  mind. 

"Lead  her  down,  uncle,"  she  said ;  "humor  her 
and  when  she's  once  outside  I  will  go  with  her  down 
the  steps  and  coax  her  around  to  the  kitchen  door." 

"  Come,  come !  "  cried  Norah,  clutching  his  arm  ; 
'*  I  can't  let  you  wait."  So  down  he  led  her  to  the 
great  hall,  followed  closely  by  Clara,  who  flew  into 
the  back  hall  and  secured  a  couple  of  cloaks.  Her 
aunt,  shaking  like  one  in  an  ague  fit,  watched  the 
scene  amid  her  guests  from  the  grand  staircase. 

Biggs  opened  the  door,  and  Norah  once  more 
singing  out — 

"  God  rest  ye,  merry  Christians," 

walked  out  into  the  wild  storm.  Clara  was  spring 
ing  after  her,  but  her  uncle  pushed  her  back,  slam 
med  the  door  violently,  locked  it,  and  then  fell 
fainting  to  the  floor. 


THE   BYRNES    OF    GLENGOULAII.  225 

In  a  moment  be  was  surrounded  by  bis  sympa 
thizing  friends,  who  raised  and  supported  him  to  a 
seat. 

Terrific  flashes  of  lurid  lightning  and  crashing 
thunder  now  followed  in  quick  succession. 

"  Oh !  God  of  Heaven  !  Think  of  that  poor  idiot 
child  out  in  such  a  storm  !  "  cried  Clara  ;  "  she  will 
die !  Oh  !  let  me  follow  and  save  her !  " 

She  ran  to  the  door ;  but  the  guests  interposed, 
and  her  aunt,  turning  upon  her  a  withering  look, 
exclaimed — 

"  Miss  Clara  Menville,  I  order  you  to  your  room 
instantly.  You  have  made  a  sufficient  fool  of  your 
self  to-night." 

Poor  Clara  burst  into  a  passion  of  tears,  and 
Lieutenant  Cordell  (the  same  who  tried  to  pinion 
Norah)  approaching,  assured  her  in  a  low,  rapid 
voice  that  he  would  go  out  and  seek  the  idiot  girl. 
So  Clara  was  forced  to  retire  to  her  room. 

The  young  lieutenant  was  true  to  his  word.  Ac 
companied  by  a  brother  officer,  and  a  couple  of 
servants  bearing  lanterns,  they  searched  the  whole 
demesne  and  could  find  no  trace  of  the  poor  ma 
niac  wanderer.  They  returned  to  the  castle  per 
fectly  drenched. 

Meantime  his  lordship  was  conveyed  to  his  bed- 

10* 


226         THE  BYRNES  OF  GLKXGOULAH. 

room,  where  restoratives  were  administered  by  his 
valet.  The  unhappy  man  was  really  sick  with  ter 
ror,  and  shook  on  his  couch  of  down  like  one  in  a 
palsy. 

Two  hours  later  the  wind  gradually  subsided  and 
died  away  in  hoarse  murmurs,  and  the  rain  was  suc 
ceeded  by  a  thick  fall  of  drifting  snow. 

About  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  every  inmate 
of  the  castle — which  was  now  dark  and  still — was 
aroused  by  a  low  mournful  cry.  It  sounded  like 
nothing  they  had  ever  heard  before ;  half  like  the 
howl  of  a  dog,  and  half  like  a  human  shriek — low 
in  its  tones,  yet  piercing  to  the  very  heart.  So  dis 
tinctly  was  it  heard  by  all  that  each  one  fancied  it 
came  from  some  being  outside  his  own  window. 

A  few  minutes  silence  ensued,  and,  as  they  list 
ened  for  a  repetition,  was  heard  a  faint  voice  sing 
ing  slowly — 

"  Now  all  my  sorrows  He  will  heal, 

My  sins  He'll  take  away, 
For  Jesus  Christ,  our  Saviour, 
Was  born  on  Christmas  day." 

An  interval  of  a  few  seconds,  and  the  voice  again 
sang  slower  and  fainter — 

"  Saviour — 
Was  born — on— Christmas  day!'* 

In  vain  they  listened— it  was  heard  no  more. 

Clara  had  lain   down,  but   c  >uld   not  sleep  lor 


THE    BYRNES    OF    GLENGOULAII.  227 

thinking  of  the  'poor  maniac,  and  now  she  was 
quite  delighted  to  hear  her  voice  once  more. 

Arising,  she  went  to  the  window,  softly  opened 
the  shutters,  and  tried  to  peer  out  into  the  darkness. 
Pier  window  looked  out  upon  the  Ovoca,  and  that 
enchanting  valley  "  where  the  bright  waters  meet." 

The  dark  river,  swollen  by  the  late  rains,  rushed 
rapidly  and  silently  on  ;  the  winds  were  all  hushed, 
a  peaceful  calm  rested  on  the  lovely  hills,  while  the 
enow  fell  in  great  soft  flakes,  arraying  them  in  robes 
of  white  on  that  blessed  Christmas  morn. 

Clara  closed  her  window  very  softly,  and  stole 
back  to  bed.  Her  heart  was  comforted  to  think 
poor  Norah  had  not  been  lost  in  that  frightful 
storm ;  then  her  thoughts  turned  upon  the  revela 
tions  of  the  maniac  girl,  and  she  writhed  with 
indignation  and  shame  to  think  any  of  her  con 
nections  should  persecute  people  for  worshipping 
God  in  the  old  faith  of  Christian  Europe  ;  then  her 
thoughts  flew  back  to  that  very  night  twelve  months 
ago,  when,  in  the  city  of  London,  she  accompanied  a 
party  of  friends  of  high  rank  (who  had  become  con- 
verts)to  midnight  mass,  and  heard  in  one  of  those 
beautiful  churches  erected  by  Pugin  the  grand  or 
gan  rolling  in  glorious  harmony  through  the  vaulted 
roof  as  the  choir  sang  that  magnificent  hymn  that 


228        THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

fell  from    the   lips  of  angels  through  the  golden 
clouds  of  morn  eighteen  hundred  years  ago : 

"  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  peace  on  earth  to  men  of  good  will  I " 

Clara's  eyes  filled  with  tears  and  her  heart  with  a 
new  emotion.  She  resolved  to  leave  no  exertion 
untried  to  create  a  new  order  of  things  on  her 
uncle's  estate,  and  to  begin  by  hunting  up  Norah 
next  day  and  providing  everything  for  her  comfort. 
The  great  clock  of  the  castle  struck  five,  and  Clara, 
thinking  and  resolving,  fell  gradually  off  to  sleep. 
She  dreamed  she  was  again  going  to  midnight  mass 
in  London,  but  she  had  no  carriage  as  before ;  the 
snow  fell  fast  as  she  found  herself  traversing  alone 
the  sedgy  banks  of  the  Ovoca,  half  blinded  by  the 
snow  and  cutting  her  feet  with  the  briars  and  stones. 
After  weary  travelling  she  seemed  to  reach  the 
church,  and  a  bright  light  shone  around.  She  lis 
tened  entranced  to  the  grand  choir  singing.  Look 
ing  up  she  could  see  no  organ,  no  roof — but  soft 
clouds  of  translucent  light  seemed  to  open,  and  a 
troop  of  angels,  with  rapturous  adoration,  sang  : 

"  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  peace  on  earth  to  men  of  good  will  1  " 

"Watching  those  celestial  forms  she  was  surprised 
to  see  that  one  smiled  down  upon  her  who  had 
bleeding  feet  and  a  tattered  white  garment.  Gaz 
ing  at  the  countenance  she  recognized  the  features 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.         229 

of  the  young  maniac  girl,  but  her  face  was  now  ra 
diant  as  the  sun,  and  a  wreath  of  glory  rested  on  her 
long  dark  hair.  Every  moment  she  seemed  to  grow 
brighter,  and  to  ascend  higher  and  higher,  until  the 
clouds  closed  beneath  her  blistered  feet  and  dark 
ness  reigned  around. 

Clara,  turning  upon  her  side,  fell  into  a  deeper 
sleep,  from  which  she  did  not  awaken  until  the 
great  bell  rang  to  summon  the  household  to  break 
fast. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Clara's  door  gently  opened,  and  her  maid  peeped 
in. 

"  I  am  awake,  Palmer,"  she  said  ;  "  come  along." 
Emma  Palmer  came  in  and  busied  herself  about  her 
young  lady,  but  Clara  saw  she  was  troubled  by  some 
secret  which  she  was  dying  to  relate.  Guessing  it  to 
be  the  supernatural  cry  which  had  been  heard  in 
the  night,  she  good-naturedly  resolved  to  gratify  her. 
"  What's  the  matter,  Palmer  ?"  "  Oh,  nothing,  Miss 
Clara ;  I  hops  you  slept  well  last  night,  Miss." 

"  Why,  Emma  child,  you  must  certainly  feel  sick, 
for  you  are  pale  as  a  ghost,  and  drawing  great  heavy 
sighs  constantly ;  are  you  in  any  pain  ?" 

"  Oh,  Miss  Clara,  I  am  not  in  any  pain ;  but  I  wish 
we  was  back  again  safe  in  England." 

"  What  are  you  afraid  of,  child  ?" 

"  Oh,  Miss  Clara,  I  feel  so  nervous  ;  I  shall  never 
enjoy  nothing  in  this  country  any  more.  They  say  the 
castle  is  haunted  ;  we  all  heard  the  most  dolefulest 
cries  last  night  after  the  rain  ceased !  I'm  sure  such 
Bounds  never  came  from  the  lips  of  any  human  crea- 


THE    I5YUXES    OF    GLENGOULAH.  2ol 

ture — it  was  a  most  awful  cry ;  then  a  voice  began 
to  sing.  Oh,  Miss  Clara,  my  heart  runs  cold — I  can't 
tell  you  what  was  found  on  the  front  steps  of  the 
hall  door !" 

"  Tell  me  instantly,  Palmer ;  what  do  you  mean  ?' 
speak  ! 

"  Oh,  Miss  Clara,  don't  be  angry  with  me.  "When 
the  stable-boy  went  to  clear  the  snow  off  the  marble 
steps  this  morning  he  seed  a  great  pile  of  snow,  as  he 
thought,  and  took  his  shovel  to  it,  but  could  not 
move  it.  He  called  the  groom  ;  and  what  did  they 
find,  think  you  ?  Oh,  Miss  Clara,  it  was  that  poor 
crazy  girl,  frozen  to  death  !" 

"  Oh,  God !  Don't  tell  me  she  is  dead ! "  cried 
Clara,  springing  to  her  feet. 

"  Miss  Clara,  I  seed  her  myself,"  sobbed  Palmer  ; 
"  she's  stone  dead." 

"  Oh  God,  have  mercy  on  me !  Oh  why  did  I  not 
fly  to  her  when  I  heard  her  singing — why,  why  did 
I  let  her  perish  ? "  And  Clara  wrung  her  hands  and 
wept  bitterly.  "Does  the  bishop  know  about  this, 
Palmer  ? " 

"  No,  Miss  Clara ;  the  valet  said  he  was  so  nervous 
and  frightened  last  night  that  no  one  should  tell 
him  ;  and  they  sent  for  a  doctor,  and  the  coroner, 
and  the  magistrates." 


232         THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

"  Who  did  all  this  ?  " 

"  Mr.  Margin,  the  agent ;  please  you,  Miss  Clara." 

"  Well,  the  bishop  must  be  told  of  it ;  he  has  a 
duty  to  fulfil.  I  will  go  to  him  instantly,  and  tell 
him  myself.  I  do  not  care  for  his  displeasure." 

Away  flew  Clara  in  her  dressing-gown.  Thomp 
son,  the  valet,  opened  the  door  at  her  knock,  and  told 
her  his  lordship  was  dressing. 

"  Well,  he  wont  mind  me.     I  must  see  him." 

She  rushed  past  Thompson  and,  unannounced, 
confronted  the  bishop,  who  was  sitting  at  his  toilet 
table. 

"  Oh,  uncle  !  1  w-aet  to  tell  your  lordship  some 
thing  most  important." 

For  a  few  moments  sobs  choked  her  utterance  and 
large  tears  rolled  down  her  cheeks. 

"  Have  the  goodness  to  explain  yourself,  Miss," 
exclaimed  the  bishop,  in  a  cold,  authoritative  voice, 
which  roused  Clara's  indignation. 

"  My  lord,  the  unfortunate  maniac  girl  whom  you 
prevented  me  from  accompanying  last  night  lies 
frozen  to  death  at  your  door !  " 

"  Well,  what  if  she  does  ?  I  did  my  best  to  shel 
ter  and  save  her,  but  she  was  wilfully  bent  on  her 
own  destruction.  You  were  a  witness  to  that  your 
self." 


THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        233 

"  No,  no  I  my  lord ;  she  would  not  accept  a  shel 
ter  here,  but  I  could  have  brought  her  to  some  other 
and  saved  her." 

He  pretended  not  to  hear  her,  and  affected  com 
posure. 

"Thompson,  send  immediately  for  Mr.  Margin, 
and  let  him  see  to  all  that  is  necessary." 

*'  He  has  been  here  an  hour  ago,  my  lord,  and 
done  all  you  would  wish." 

"  I  am  much  obliged  to  him.  Then  let  the  mat 
ter  be  mentioned  to  me  no  more,  unless  the  coroner 
should  need  my  testimony." 

His  frigid  indifference  provoked  Clara  beyond  en 
durance. 

"  My  lord,  my  lord ;  I  fear  there  has  been  a  foul 
wrong  done  somewhere." 

The  face  of  the  bishop  grew  livid  with  rage,  and 
the  old  tiger-light  flashed  from  his  eyes. 

Thompson  withdrew  to  the  outer  room,  but  took 
care  to  be  in  good  hearing  distance. 

"  Did  you  come  here  to  dictate  to  me,  madam  ? 
I  do  not  forget  your  conduct  last  night.  Only  for 
your  low  propensities,  I  could  have  had  that  pauper 
instantly  dismissed  from  my  presence  ;  but  you  fos 
tered  and  encouraged  her  idle,  malicious  tales  in  the 
very  presence  of  ray  guests.  Yes,  •madam,  to  in- 


231         THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

dulge  your  morbid  sensibility,  you  allowed  a  driv 
elling  idiot  to  falsify  the  character  of  your  own  re 
lation,  who  is,  moreover,  an  elderly  dignitary  of  the 
Church,  and  that  in  his  own  house." 

"  It  is  false !  utterly  false ! "  exclaimed  Clara. 
"  When  the  poor  victim  first  spoke  of  her  wrongs 
I  had  no  idea  who  her  persecutor  was.  My  lord, 
'  children  and  fools  speak  truth,'  and  I  now  believe 
all  she  said.  I  also  believe  the  Almighty  would  not 
sufter  an  innocent  sheep  to  perish  at  the  door  of  the 
pastor  if  he  were  worthy  of  the  name." 

She  walked  indignantly  from  the  room  and 
slammed  the  door  after  her  like  a  cannon  ball. 

Now  all  his  pretended  indifference  vanished  ;  he 
shook  convulsively,  and  clutched  at  the  table  for 
support.  Wretched  tyrant !  He  writhed  under  the 
lash  of  public  opinion,  for  he  drank  in  those  bitter 
words  of  Clara  :  "  Children  and  idiots  speak  truth." 
Well  he  knew  that  old  adage  had  passed  through 
more  minds  than  her's ;  he  read  it  in  the  faces  of 
his  guests  in  the  drawing-room  last  night,  all  worldly 
though  most  of  them  were.  And  now — Oh  !  that 
dreaded  inquest— the  thought  was  torture.  All  his 
long  catalogue  of  extortions  and  persecutions  would 
become  common  topics  of  conversation,  and  his  as 
sumed  mask  of  sanctity  would  be  rudely  torn  away 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGODLAH.         235 

Finding  himself  unable  to  support  those  bitter  re 
flections  and  yet  appear  calm,  he  resolved  to  remain 
in  his  room  and  play  the  compassionate  pastor,  over 
come  by  his  feelings  for  one  of  his  lost  flock  who 
would  not  be  saved.  Accordingly  Thompson  brought 
him  up  a  dainty  breakfast  in  a  service  of  silver  and 
gold. 

About  noon  the  coroner  arrived,  and  a  dense 
crowd  of  people  from  town  and  country.  It  was 
many  a  long  day  since  the  noble  lawn  before  the 
castle  was  filled  by  so  many  honest  faces  and  feeling 
hearts.  Among  the  rest  was  the  venerable  Father 
Esmond  in  the  carriage  with  Mr.  De  Courcy.  Al 
though  scarce  able  to  breathe,  he  came  with  the 
sympathizing  crowd  to  honor  that  old  branch  of  the 
Cormacs.  Mrs.  Dargan  and  her  son  were  also  there 
in  their  jaunting  car,  with  a  hearse  following  behind 
them  containing  a  handsome  coffin  and  white  plumes. 

The  report  had  spread  like  wildfire  that  Biggs  had 
pushed  the  idiot  girl  out  in  the  storm,  and  that  she 
lay  down  on  the  threshold  and  died  of  cold  ! 

The  coroner,  who  was  an  upright  man,  and  anxious 
to  elicit  truth,  summoned  every  inmate  of  the  castle 
to  give  evidence. 

Lord  Biggs  made  a  great  show  of  regret  at  the 
obstinacy  of  the  crazy  girl,  declaring  that  no  father 


236        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH". 

could  be  more  anxious  for  the  welfare  of  his  child, 
but  no  effort  of  his  or  of  his  household  could  save 
her. 

The  testimony  of  her  ladyship  and  the  guests  and 
the  servants  followed  ;  but  the  spectators  were  little 
inclined  to  believe  any  of  them  until  Clara  came 
forward ;  and  her  evidence  was  given  with  so  much 
straightforwardness  and  real  feeling  that  all  hearts 
were  inclined  in  her  favor. 

"When  requested  by  Mr.  De  Courcy  to  state  if  she 
could  account  for  the  idiot  girl  seeming  to  feel 
kindly  toward  her,  yet  refusing  her  proffered  assist 
ance,  Clara  hesitated  a  im  aent,  and  then  said — 

"The  poor  child  evir'jntly  harbored  the  impres 
sion  that  his  lordship  .,iad  injured  her,  and  nothing 
could  induce  her  to  accept  his  hospitality,  although 
the  bishop  was  most  anxious  to  have  every  attention 
paid  her." 

Lieutenant  Cordell  testified  to  Miss  Menville's 
desire  to  accompany  the  girl,  and  how  she  had  pro 
vided  cloaks  for  the  purpose,  but  was  prevented  by 
her  friends  from  sacrificing  her  life  on  such  a  ter 
rific  night — but  that  he  and  Capt.  Windham  had 
taken  a  couple  of  servants  and  lanterns  and  gone 
over  the  whole  domain  without  finding  a  trace  of 
her.  The  people  at  the  different  lodges  declared 


THE  BYENES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        237 

she  did  not  pass  through  the  gates,  so  he  was  satis 
fied  she  had  hidden  away  somewhere,  and  that  a 
further  search  was  useless.  He  said  he  had  no  doubt, 
like  many  maniacs,  she  had  had  a  presentiment  of 
her  approaching  death,  and  had  taken  the  resolution 
of  dying  at  the  door  of  one  whom  (no  doubt)  her 
overwrought  imagination  had  deemed  her  persecutor. 
Biggs  withdrew  immediately  after  Clara's  testimony. 
A  verdict  was  returned  of  "  Death  caused  by  expos 
ure  to  the  cold  and  wet." 

After  the  verdict  was  rendered  Margin  came  for 
ward,  and  said  "  it  was  his  lordship's  wish  to  have 
everything  regarding  the  funeral  conducted  in  the 
most  becoming  manner  and  at  his  expense."  A 
storm  of  voices  replied,  "  No,  no,  never  !  "We'll  bury 
her  ourselves.  "We  want  none  of  his  money !" 
Here  Mrs.  Dargan's  son  came  forward,  and  said  his 
mother  had  already  provided  a  coffin  and  hearse  to 
carry  her  home ;  and  at  her  house  all  who  respected 
the  house  of  Cormac  could  see  the  remains  of  the 
young  maniac  laid  out  as  became  a  Christian. 

This  announcement  was  received  with  murmurs  of 
applause — cheers  were  dispensed  with  out  of  respect 
to  the  departed.  The  remains  were  tenderly  borne 
to  Mrs.  Dargau's,  and  having  been  waked  for  two 
nights,  according  to  custom,  were  carried  to  Tin 


238         THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

manogue  on  the  shoulders  of  the  neighbors — the 
empty  hearse  following  after — and  deposited  be 
side  those  of  her  father  and  mother. 

The  funeral  cortege  was  the  longest  seen  in  that 
part  of  the  country  since  the  death  of  Mr.  de 
Courcy's  father. 

Glengoulah  Castle  was  shut  up  and  the  blinds 
drawn  down.  His  lordship  dispatched  messengers 
postponing  the  festivities  indefinitely,  and  most  of 
the  guests  departed  for  their  homes. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  Misses  Menville  wrote  to  their  father  request 
ing  to  be  taken  home.  Pending  their  father's  reply 
the  young  ladies  were  scarcely  noticed  by  their  aunt 
and  uncle. 

Taking  advantage  of  the  liberty  thus  afforded 
they  frequently  drove  out  in  a  little  pony  phaeton, 
accompanied  only  by  a  footman.  They  one  day 
visited  the  Presentation  convent  of  Ardmore,  and 
were  perfectly  delighted  with  the  whole  establish 
ment,  especially  the  schools  attached  to  it,  where  the 
beautiful  lace  fabrics  and  straw-plaiting,  made  by 
the  children,  excited  their  wonder  and  admiration. 

Here  was  the  lie  direct  given  to  the  oft-repeated 
tales  of  the  wilful  ignorance  of  the  Irish  people,  and 
the  lamentable  darkness  in  which  they  were  kept  by 
their  priests.  Both  young  ladies  questioned  many 
of  the  children  on  different  subjects,  and  were  sur 
prised  at  the  quick  intelligence  of  their  replies,  as 
well  as  their  respectful  and  polite  demeanor. 

They  confessed  to  each  other  the  superiority  in 
this  respect  of  the  Irish  peasantry  over  those  of  their 


24:0  THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH. 

own  country;  and  could  not  help  contrasting  the 
difference  in  the  mode  of  education,  and  the  happy 
looks  of  the  children,  with  their  uncle's  false  and 
forced  system. 

They  drew  from  the  superioress  the  whole  partic 
ulars  of  Norah  Cormac's  birth  and  education.  She 
seemed  at  first  unwilling  to  speak  harshly  of  Lord 
Biggs  out  of  respect  to  their  feelings,  but  Clara  told 
her  what  the  maniac  girl  had  said  about  the  Bible- 
reader  and  their  subsequent  ejectment  from  their 
home,  so  the  superioress  then  told  them  the  whole 
truth,  and  the  sorrows  and  persecutions  endured  by 
the  whole  Catholic  population  who  were  under  his 
lordship's  dominion.  They  left  a  large  donation  for 
the  schools  and  returned. 

Clara  came  once  again  alone.  She  said  her 
father  had  written  and  would  be  there  next  day,  so 
they  would  be  leaving  immediately  for  England. 

"  I  came  to  ask  a  favor  of  you,  Reverend  Mother," 
she  said,  blushing  deeply.  "  It  is  to  remember  me 
in  your  prayers.  Mother,  I  am  not  happy ;  my 
mind  is  not  at  rest ; "  and  her  eyes  filled  with  tears, 
as  did  those  of  the  good  mother. 

"  My  dear  young   lady,  calm  yourself,"  she  re 
plied ;  "  I  feel  assured  you  are  very  dear  to  the  sa 
cred  heart  of  Jesus,  and  that  he  has  great  designs 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAII.  24:1 

on  your  soul.  "We  have  anticipated  your  wishes 
already,  dear  child,  and  daily  recite  a  bead  for  you 
and  your  sister,  to  whose  generosity  we  are  so  much 
indebted  ;  but  we  will  say  additional  prayers  for 
you  especially  for  the  future.  And  now  I  want  you 
to  confer  a  small  favor  on  me  in  return." 

As  she  spoke  she  unlocked  an  escritoire  which 
stood  in  a  recess,  and  took  from  one  of  the  compart 
ments  a  gold  medal  of  Mary  Immaculate.  Present 
ing  it  to  Clara,  she  said  :  "  Now  promise  me,  dear 
young  lady,  to  wear  this  constantly,  and  daily  recite 
one  '  Hail  Mary'  for  light  to  guide  you  to  the  right 
path."  Do  not  let  sneers  or  frowns  deter  you  from 
wearing  this  holy  medal,  which  is  blessed  in  the 
Catholic  Church,  remembering  the  words  of  Scrip 
ture — '  Every  creature  of  God  is  good,  and  nothing 
to  be  rejected  that  is  received  with  thanksgiving, 
for  it  is  sanctified  by  the  word  of  God  and  prayer.' 

"  Should  any  of  your  friends  laugh  at  you  for 
venerating  a  bit  of  metal,  remind  them  how  the 
Israelites  were  cured  of  a  venomous  bite  by  looking 
on  a  piece  of  metal  made  in  the  form  of  a  serpent." 

Clara,  sobbing,  promised  faithfully-  to  fulfil  the 
request  of  the  nun. 

The  superioress  embraced  her  warmly  and  they 
parted. 

11 


242        THE  BYKNE8  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

The  following  year  Clara  had  the  happiness  to  be 
come  acquainted  in  London  with  dear  Father  Faber 
— the  very  angel  of  converts — and  under  his  spiritual 
guidance  she,  with  the  consent  of  her  father,  entered 
the  one  sheepfold  of  the  one  shepherd  ! 

The  death  of  Norah  Cormac,  under  such  circum 
stances,  did  not  serve  to  increase  the  popularity  of 
Biggs — he  became  more  obnoxious  than  ever;  and, 
as  if  to  defy  public  opinion  still  more,  he  showed  his 
petty  malignity  by  impounding  every  cow  and  pig 
that  grazed  along  the  road  belonging  to  the  poor 
cottiers.  It  was  whispered  in  circles,  too,  where  his 
habits  were  best  known,  that  his  applications  to  the 
madeira  and  claret  in  his  cellar  were  more  frequent 
than  appeared  seemly  for  a  preacher  of  the  gospel — 
it  was  so  quietly  conducted,  however,  that,  but  for 
Mr.  Thompson's  confidential  communications  to  the 
housekeeper,  this  weakness  in  such  a  shining  pillar 
of  the  Church  would  never  be  known. 

Some  months  passed  away — his  lady  and  sisters 
were  on  a  visit  to  some  friends  in  England,  and  were 
not  expected  home  until  Christmas. 

In  the  month  of  November  Lord  Biggs  went  to  a 
dinner-party  at  Colonel  Dickson's,  whose  estate  lay 
contiguous  to  Glengoulah. 

As  he  was  returning  home,  about  an  hour  after 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        243 

midnight,  a  shot  was  fired  at  him.  He  was  riding 
in  a  small  carriage,  driven  by  the  brave  Jacob,  so 
noted  for  his  slender  understandings. 

The  carriage  had  passed  through  the  great  gate, 
and  his  lordship,  expressing  a  wish  to  alight,  was  as 
sisted  from  it  by  the  porter  at  the  lodge,  and  he 
walked  up  the  avenue.  He  had  ascended  the  steps 
and  knocked  at  the  hall  door,  when  he  heard  the  re 
port  of  the  gun  and  saw  a  man  running.  He  ran 
down  the  steps  and  tried  £o  overtake  the  man,  but 
fell  in  the  attempt.  On  getting  up  he  screamed  for 
help,  and  then  the  door  was  opened  and  lights 
brought  out,  but  the  intended  assassin  was  beyond 
their  reach.  A  posse  of  police  were  sent  for  in- 
stanter,  and  while  one  portion  were  detailed  to  follow 
in  the  direction  taken  by  the  man  who  fired  the  shot, 
another  portion,  acting  as  a  body-guard,  accompanied 
his  lordship  to  a  magistrate  to  make  depositions. 

The  bishop  expressed  a  wish  to  make  his  charges 
to  Mr.  De  Courcy,  for  malignant  reasons  of  his  own, 
and  they  accordingly  proceeded  to  Cascade  House. 
Mr.  De  Courcy  and  his  household  were  all  in  bed, 
but  the  servants  were  soon  aroused  and  showed  the 
party  into  the  library. 

On  learning  their  errand  Mr.  De  Courcy  came 
down  in  his  dressing  gown,  and  bowed  coldly  and 


244         THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

formally  to  his  lordship.  The  bishop  addressed  him 
immediately : 

"  Sir,  one  of  your  immaculate  peasantry  has  at 
tempted  to  murder  me  this  night." 

Mr.  De  Courcy  unlocked  his  escritoire,  seated 
himself,  pen  in  hand,  and,  calling  upon  the  constab 
ulary  present  to  act  as  witnesses,  said  to  the  bishop : 

"  You  wish  to  make  depositions,  I  presume." 

"  It  was  for  that  purpose  I  came  here." 

"  Haley  "  (to  one  of  the  policemen),  "  please  present 
that  Bible  to  his  lordship.  You  will  please  swear 
to  the  truth  of  the  statement  you  are  going  to  make." 

"  I  can  have  no  hesitation  in  doing  so ;  "  and  he 
touched  the  book  with  his  lips. 

He  then  detailed  the  circumstances  as  just  related. 

"  Do  you  think  from  the  report  was  it  a  pistol,  my 
lord,  or  a  gun,  which  was  fired  at  you  ? " 

"  It  was  a  gun." 

"  You  judge  so  from  the  report  ?  " 

"  Not  that  alone  ;  I  saw  the  gun  in  the  villain's 
hand." 

"  Oh,  you  saw  him,  then  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  most  distinctly.  I  saw  his  countenance 
fully,  and  looked  at  his  profile.  His  face  is  indelibly 
fixed  on  my  mind..  There  was  no  moon,  but  it  was 
dusk,  or  darkish  twilight." 


THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.         245 

"  Do  you  know  who  he  is  ? " 

"  No  ;  the  scoundrel  is  a  stranger  to  me." 

"  Have  you  reason   to  suspect  any  one,  my  lord  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir.  You  well  know  I  have  reason  to  suspect 
the  whole  vile  crew  of  my  tenantry,  any  one  of  whom 
would  gladly  take  my  life ;  but  this  wretch,  I  pre 
sume,  is  a  stranger,  whom  they  hired  to  murder  me, 
being  too  cowardly  to  do  it  themselves.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  it  is  a  plot  that  has  been  long  in  contem 
plation." 

Mr.  De  Courcy  turned  upon  him  a  stern  look.- 
"  My  lord,  you  must  confine  yourself  to  facts.  I  can 
not  notice  your  comments.  This  is  not  the  place  for 
them.  Has  your  lordship  any  further  facts  to  re 
late?" 

"  No." 

The  deposition  having  been  duly  read  over,  wit 
nessed,  and  signed,  his  lordship  and  guard  took  their 
departure. 

As  Mr.  De  Courcy  sat  at  breakfast  next  morning 
with  his  family,  he  was  surprised  to  see  the  bishop's 
carriage  stopping  at  the  door,  and  his  lordship  and 
guard  alighting  from  it.  He  received  them  in  the 
library  as  before. 

"  I  have  come,  sir,  to  make  a  new  statement," 
said  Biggs. 


THE    BYKNES    OF    GLENGOULAH. 

Mr.  De  Courcy  again  opened  his  escritoire,  and 
prepared  to  write. 

"  I  was  so  confused  last  night  from  excitement," 
proceeded  his  lordship,  "  that  I  could  not  .recollect 
who  my  intended  murderer  was ;  but  when  alone  in 
the  silence  of  my  chamber  since  I  recalled  his  fea 
tures,  and  remembered  him  to  be  a  man  whom  I 
ejected  from  my  land  some  few  years  ago.  He  has 
been  prowling  about  this  neighborhood  ever  since, 
as  a  laborer.  His  name  is  Dempsey — Bryan  Demp- 
Bey." 

Mr.  De  Courcy  fixed  a  scrutinizing  look  upon  the 
bishop  as  he  uttered  these  words,  and  demanded — 

"  My  lord,  have  you  been  drinking  strong  liquors 
since  I  took  your  deposition  ? " 

"  Certainly  not." 

"  Do  you  remember  you  swore  point  blank,  in  the 
presence  of  witnesses,  that  you  had  a  perfect  view 
of  the  man's  face,  that  his  countenance  was  indeli 
bly  fixed  on  your  mind,  and  that  he  was  a  stranger 
to  you  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  but  I  recalled  his  features  since." 

"  And  you  would  now  swear  that  what  you  swore 
a  few  hours  ago  was  untrue?  " 

"  I  tell  you  I  recollected  his  features  since." 

Mr.  De  Courcy  closed  his  escritoire. 


THE    BYRNES    OF    GLKNGOULAII.  247 

"  My  lord  bishop,  I  must  remind  you  I  am  a  mag 
istrate,  and  not  accustomed  to  allow  any  man  to 
treat  me  with  indignity." 

"  Then  yon  refuse  to  take  my  deposition  ?  " 

"Most  decidedly.  You  must  go  elsewhere  with 
your  trifling ;  it  will  receive  no  toleration  from  me." 

He  departed,  foaming  with  rage,  and  betook  him 
self  to  Margin,  in  whom  he  found  a  willing  tool. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

IT  was  two  o'clock  in  the  cottage  of  Bryan  Demp- 
eey.  He  and  Winnie,  with  their  three  youngest 
children,  had  just  sat  down  to  dinner — the  two 
older  ones  were  at  school  in  Tinmanogue  with  Mr. 
Rafferty. 

One  little  girl  of  four  years  sat  beside  her  father, 
who  peeled  her  potatoes  and  divided  Ins  attentions 
between  her  and  a  blooming  little  fellow  of  two 
years,  who  sat  opposite,  beside  his  mother.  Winnie 
held  the  baby — a  fine  infant  of  five  months — on  her 
lap,  and  fed  it  and  herself  together. 

Winnie  still  looked  very  young  and  pretty,  and 
was  always  neat  and  tidy  in  her  person  and  house. 
Their  little  cottage  contained  but  two  rooms.  The 
inner  one,  which  you  caught,  a  glimpse  of  through 
the  half-open  door,  contained  a  good  old-fashioned 
bed,  with  curtains  of  dark  chintz  and  fringed  pillow 
slip.  Beside  it  was  a  kneeling-chair,  or  Prie  Dieu, 
of  painted  wood.  Those  were  the  gifts  of  her 
mother  to  Winnie  on  her  marriage. 

Over  this   chair,  suspended   on    the   wall,  hunjj 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.         249 

several  little  framed  pictures  around  a  large-sized 
one  of  the  Crucifixion,  which  formed  a  centre-piece. 
Our  Blessed  Lady  repairing  a  child's  garment,  St. 
Joseph  planing  a  board,  and  the  Divine  Infant  be 
tween  both,  crumbling  with  his  tiny  lingers  a  piece 
of  bread  among  a  group  of  little  chickens,  formed 
the  subject  of  one  of  the  small  pictures — rudely  ex 
ecuted,  but  exquisitely  touching  in  design.  Another 
was  the  infant  St.  John  carrying  a  lamb  bigger 
than  himself.  A  third  was  St.  Patrick,  dressed  in 
full  pontificals,  standing  in  a  commanding  attitude 
with  his  finger  pointing  to  the  ocean,  while  a  whole 
crowd  of  snakes,  toads,  and  serpents,  bounded  or 
crawled  as  quickly  as  they  could  into  the  foaming 
waves,  apparently  very  glad  to  escape  from  his  for 
midable-looking  crozier.  A  fourth  was  St.  Bridget, 
wrapt  in  meditation  before  her  inextinguishable  fire 
in  the  "  Holy  Fane  of  Kildare." 

A  font  of  white  delf  hung  close  to  the  bed's  head 
containing  holy  water,  and  a  rosary  hanging  upon 
it  completed  the  spiritual  ornaments.  The  re 
mainder  of  the  furniture  was  humble  but  comforta 
ble. 

In  the  outer  room  or  kitchen  the  ample  fire-place 
had  its  usual  pile  of  blazing  turf. 

Before  this  fire  Bryan  and  Winnie  were  now  eat- 

11* 


25  >  THE    BYRNES    OF    GLENG^ULAU. 

ing  their  mid-day  meal,  as  it  is  called,  though  it  was 
two  o'clock,  the  hour  when  all  the  laboring  people 
take  their  dinner. 

Opposite  the  front  door  of  the  cottage  was  another 
door  leading  to  the  little  garden  and  potatoe- 
patch.  A.  short  partition  protruded  a  little  from 
this  door,  which  hid  from  observation  a  settle  bed 
that  came  down  at  night  and  accommodated  the  lit 
tle  boys  with  a  sleeping  apartment,  and  folded  up 
in  the  day  under  a  curtain  effectually  concealing  it. 
The  whole  wall  at  this  side  was  covered  by  a  dresser, 
the  pride  of  Winnie's  heart,  and  the  admiration  of 
all  who  saw  it.  Here  burnished  tin,  copper,  delft, 
and  china,  contended  for  mastery.  Each  shelf  was 
a  study,  and  the  coup  cPoeil  a  mass  of  brilliancy  per 
fectly  dazzling  to  look  upon. 

lu  a  nook  near  by  was  an  alarm  clock,  which  kept 
time  to  perfection,  and  two  shelves  containing  their 
limited  library. 

A  table  white  as  snow  stood  under  the  window, 
and  chairs  white  as  the  table  were  disposed  around 
the  apartment. 

Over  the  fire-place  was  a  portrait  of  a  burly  look 
ing  gentleman  with  a  massive  head,  good  humored 
face,  and  twinkling  eye,  dressed  in  a  coat  of  bright 
green — while  a  scroll  in  his  hand  labeled  "  Repeal" 


TH  1C    P.YKXKH    OF    GLKNGOULAH.  251 

told  plainly  as  possible  that  it  was  the  portrait  of 
the  renowned  Daniel  O'Connell,  Esq.,M.  P.  Beside 
this  picture  was  another  of  a  lady  dressed  in  the 
height  of  fashion  sitting  before  a  looking-glass,  giv 
ing,  as  we  may  suppose,  the  last  finishing  touch  to 
her  complexion,  when  she  discovers,  reflected  in  the 
looking-glass,  the  figure  of  a  great  gaunt  skeleton 
close  beside  her,  leaning  on  a  scythe  of  very  ex 
tensive  dimensions.  Without  further  ceremony  he 
informs  her  she  has  to  go  with  him.  while  she,  not 
at  all  relishing  the  invitation,  remonstrates  in  most 
moving  language,  to  which  he  replies  in  terms  more 
convincing  than  entertaining.  The  dialogue  being 
printed  underneath  was  a  source  of  great  edification 
to  Bryan's  visitors,  who  considered  it  a  neat  and 
instructive  composition. 

The  outside  of  the  cottage  was  literally  covered 
with  woodbine  and  Siberian  honeysuckles,  wherein 
Winnie  displayed  her  early  taste ;  and  among  the 
vines  hung  three  cages,  containing  a  lark,  a  gold 
finch,  and  a  thrush,  whose  combined  voices  kept  the 
neighborhood  in  melodious  strains  "  from  early  morn 
till  set  of  sun." 

Winnie  herself  often  helped  the  feathered  song 
sters. 

When  washing   or  scouring  off  her  tables 


252        1HE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGODLAH. 

chairs  she  would  rattle  off  "  The  Rakes  of  Kildare,'' 
"  Kitty's  Rambles,"  or  some  other  equally  lively 
air  ;  or  she  would  sing  for  the  baby  as  a  lullaby  that 
beautiful  old  melody,  "  I'm  asleep  and  don't  awaken 
me,"  till  the  birds  sat  thoughtfully  o  .  their  perches 
and  listened.  .It  was  a  pleasant  little  home,  though 
not  a  rich  one,  for  peace  and  virtue  dwelt  beneath 
its  roof. 

"  Ah,  then,  Bryan,"  said  Winnie,  "  did  you  think 
of  asking  Mrs.  Keigan  how  she  felt  the  rheumatics 
this  year  ?" 

"  'Deed,  then,  it  never  once  crost  my  mind." 

"  Oh,  shame  on  you,  Bryan  ;  and  you  two  nights 
under  the  same  roof  with  Jier  !  How  in  the  world 
did  you  forget  it  ?" 

"  Well,  I  didn't  hear  her  complainin' ;  and  then,  I 
didn't  think  of  it.  Anyway  she  was  as  spry  as  any 
of  us,  around  the  fire  every  night,  singin'  songs  and 
tellin'  ghost  stories — we  did  not  go  to  bed  era  night 
till  past  ten  o'clock." 

"  Is  that  the  work  you  were  at  ?  Indeed  I  heard 
some  of  John  Keigan's  ghost  adventures  before  now 
and  laughed  till  I  cried  again — he's  the  devil  all  out, 
at  invention.  Did  he  tell  you  about  the  night  him- 
self  and  Pat  Rourke  met  the  big  buck  goat  down 
by  Kitturnen  church-yui  d  ?" 


THE   BYKNES   OF   GLENGOTJLAH.  253 

"  Did  he  ?  Ha,  ha,  ha,  ha  !  Sure  I  thought  my 
sides  would  split.  Pershume  to  you,  for  one  John — 
every  time  I  think  of  it  I  have  to  go  off.  Ha,  ha,  ha, 
ha !  The  laugh  was  contagious,  for  Winnie  threw 
back  her  head  in  a  kink,  while  the  baby  kicked  and 
crowed,  and  the  other  little  ones  laughed  uproar 
iously. 

"Winnie  wiped  her  eyes  in  her  apron  and  was  just 
resuming  her  dinner  when  a  shadow  crossed  the 
open  door  and  a  constable  entered  the  cottage. 

Alas  for  poor  Winnie  and  her  little  ones  !  That 
shadow  was  the  most  woeful  that  ever  fell  upon 
their  lives.  Long  did  the  memory  of  that  heartfelt 
laugh  of  poor  Bryan's  ring  through  the  pleasant  cot 
tage,  now  dark  forevermore — that  laugh,  so  indica 
tive  of  a  peaceful  conscience,  for  truly  does  the  poet 
sing: 

"  I  never  heard  a  hearty  laugh 
Come  out  a  villain's  throat." 

At  sight  of  the  constable  Winnie  turned  pale  as 
death.  She  had  never  seen  one,  since  their  eviction 
from  their  farm,  without  an  inward  ejaculation  ;  and 
now  again  the  baneful  shadow  stood  within  their 
home  and  all  strength  left  her. 

Bryan,  though  he  had  as  little  love  foi  the  genus 
as  Winnie,  was  too  mindful  of  his  hospitable 
duties,  and  possessed  too  much  of  that  inborn  refine- 


254        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

inent  so  remarkable  in  all  Irishmen — from  the  hum 
blest  peasant  in  his  cot  to  the  lord  in  his  palace — to 
appear  embarrassed,  nor  did  he  feel  so  in  reality,  for 
his  soul  was  guiltless. 

"  God  save  you,  honest  man  !  "  he  cried  cheerfully ; 
"  wont  you  sit  and  take  share  of  our  meal  ?  It 
is  not  much,  but  it's  the  best  we  have,  and  you're 
kindly  welcome  to  it." 

"  Thank  you,  no !  Does  Bryan  Dempsey  live 
here?" 

"  Bedad  he  does,  sure  enough ;  that's  my  name, 
sir." 

"  You  will  have  to  come  with  me  to  Mr.  Margin's 
office." 

"Mr.  Margin's  office?  I  think  there  must  be 
some  mistake.  I  have  no  dealings  with  Mr.  Margin, 
nor  hadn't  for  years." 

"  Didn't  you  hear  the  news,  Mr.  Dempsey  ?  " 

"  No,  sir ;  I  heard  no  news." 

"  The  lord  bishop  of  Glengoulah  was  shot  at  last 
night." 

"Good  God!  was  he  though?     And  is  he  killed  ?" 

"No.     He  had  a  narrow  escape  of  death." 

"  Thank  God !  I'm  glad  the  unlucky  old  sinner 
wasn't  killed  in  his  sins." 

The  constable  eyed  him  narrowly. 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        255 

"  They  think  you  know  something  about  it,  Demp- 
sey." 

"  Me, sir?  Oh,  bedad ;  you're  jokin'  now  in  earnest. 
If  he  wasn't  to  die  till  I'd  shoot  him,  he'd  be  a 
long-lived  man  ;  and  don't  they  know  who  done  it  ? " 

"  I  can't  tell  yet ;  but  I  was  ordered  to  bring  you 
to  Margin's  office.  If  you  feel  you  are  innocent,  you 
can't  object  to  come  with  me." 

"  Oh,  sorra  an  objection  I  have.  I  wasn't  even  at 
home  since  last  Tuesday.  I  was  eight  miles  from 
here  at  a  cousin's  of  my  own,  diggin'  their  potatoes. 
I'm  only  in  town  since  nine  o'clock  this  mornin', 
God  be  praised  !  " 

"  Well,  my  good  man,  you  can  state  all  this  on 
your  examination ;  it  is  useless  to  tell  me."  It  is 
evident  the  constable  was  prepossessed  in  favor  of 
the  man  from  his  transparent  honesty.  Bryan  arose 
and  took  his  hat.  Winnie  had  not  uttered  a  word 
since  the  constable  came  in,  but  sat  with  lips  apart 
and  dilated  eye-balls,  catching  every  word  that  fell 
from  him.  Now,  that  she  saw  her  loved  husband 
about  to  depart  with  him,  an  undefined  sense 
of  harm  to  come  took  possession  of  her  mind, 
and  restored  to  her  a  momentary  strength.  She 
started  wildly  from  her  seat,  hurriedly  laid  her  baby 
in  its  cradle,  and  clasping  him  frantically  in  her 


256  THE   BYK-NE3    OF    GLENGOULAH. 

arms,  exclaimed  :  "  Brvan !  Brvan,  asthore :  machree  1 

*•  •/ 

Don't  go  near  them.  Don't  you  know  that  villainous 
Biggs  thirsts  for  my  father's  blood  ?  and  seeiu'  him 
beyond  his  reach,  he  will  murder  him  through  you! 
Darlin'  of  my  heart,  he  will  never  let  you  out  of  his 
clutches,  and  your  poor  Winnie  will  see  you  no 
more!  Oh,  God  pity  me!  Bryan,  don't  go  near 
them  blood-hounds ;  they're  on  your  track !  I  see  it 
all  before  me ;  your  innocence  wont  save  you  with 
them — they  don't  care  for  guilt  or  innocence  ;  they 
want  the  poor  man's  blood,  and  little  trouble  they'll 
take  to  find  out  the  truth  so  as  they  have  the  victim  1  " 

"  Winnie,  my  poor  colleen  !  "  said  Bryan,  tenderly. 
"  Don't  let  your  fears  make  you  spake  so  foolish. 
Don't  you  know  there's  law  in  the  land  ?  and  it's 
against  common  sense  to  think  they  can  swear 
away  my  life,  when  I  have  plenty  to  prove  I  was 
eight  miles  from  the  place  where  they  say  the  crime 
was  committed!  Nonsense,  Winnie !  have  sense. 
I'll  be  home  wid  you  to-night,  or  to-morrow  at 
furthest,  please  God." 

"  Oh  Bryan,  my  own  true  husband  !  "  and  Winnie 
wept  convulsively  on  his  breast.  The  children  all 
commenced  screaming  as  they  saw  their  mother  cry. 

Poor  Bryan  went  from  one  to  another,  embraced 
Ihem  hastily,  and  hurried  away  with  the  constable. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

MANY  of  the  neighbors  had  gathered  in  when 
they  heard  the  cries  and  saw  Bryan  Dempsey  in  the 
company  of  a  constable.  Curses,  heavy  and  deep, 
were  unsparingly  bestowed  upon  "Biggs,  and  the 
whole  crew  of  murdherin'  thieves."  The  shadow 
of  a  doubt  of  Bryan's  innocence  never  crossed  the 
mind  of  one  individual;  he  had  not  an  enemy  on 
earth  but  the  wretches  in  whose  presence  he  was 
about  to  stand,  nor  did  even  they  hate  him  person 
ally  ;  he  was  but  a  tool  used  for  the  maintenance  of 
the  sordid  landed  interest.  When  he  arrived  at 
Margin's  a  posse  of  policemen  were  waiting  to  con 
vey  him  to  the  castle,  in  the  hall  of  which  were 
assembled  some  country  people  and  several  magis 
trates.  Margin,  taking  Dempsey  by  the  shoulder, 
placed  him  among  about  twenty  country  people, 
and  then  proceeded  with  the  farce  of  an  examina 
tion. 

"  Now,  my  lord,  cast  your  eyes  over  yondei 
crowd  and  see  if  you  can  recognize  your  intended 
murderer." 


258        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

"  Yes ;  I  see  him  there  among  the  crowd.  It  is 
Bryan  Dempsey.  He  is  the  man  who  knocked  me 
down  with  a  horse-pistol.  I  now  recognize  him 
fully;  he  repeated  the  blow  five  or  six  times.  I 
struggled  with  him,  and  knocked  him  down  once." 

A  warrant  was  issued  immediately  for  the  arrest 
and  imprisonment  of  Bryan  Dempsey  in  Ardmore 
jail.  Before  night  people  of  wealth  and  position 
offered  any  amount  of  bail  for  the  temporary  release 
of  Bryan  until  the  day  of  trial,  but  no  bail  would  be 
taken. 

It  would  be  vain  to  attempt  describing  the  an 
guish  of  poor  Winnie,  although  she  was  surrounded 
by  that  sympathizing  charity  so  abundant  in  the 
Irish  heart  for  those  in  misfortune.  One  of  the 
neighbors  had  started  oif  for  her  parents  and  soon 
she  had  her  loved  family  about  her,  but  their  very 
presence  seemed  to  make  her  miss  him  more.  She 
would  start  every  moment,  thinking  she  heard  his 
step,  or  the  sound  of  his  voice,  and  going  to  the  door 
would  strain  her  eyes  wildly  down  the  Ardmore 
road,  and  return  moaning  bitterly,  exclaiming,  "  Oh, 
no !  no !  My  heart's  life,  you'll  never  come  that  road 
again  ! "  To  reason  with  her  was  vain.  She  said 
her  heart  told  her  the  face  of  Bryan  Dempsey  would 
never  more  be  seen  alive  in  their  little  home. 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        259 

Father  Esmond,  now  bent  by  age  and  iriinniities, 
was  confined  to  his  bed  by  a  severe  attack  of  asthma. 
When  he  heard  of  the  arrest  of  Bryan  Dempsey  foi 
such  a  crime  he  immediately  sent  Father  O'Tool 
to  offer  every  consolation  in  his  power  to  his  afflicted 
children.  He  had  known  both  from  childhood, 
and  well  knew  the}7  would  not  injure  the  humblest 
of  God's  creatures.  Perhaps,  of  all  the  tenantry 
evicted  four  years  ago  from  the  Glengoulah  estates, 
the  one  who  murmured  least  was  poor  Bryan — not 
that  he  suffered  less  than  others,  for  he  had  an  old 
grandmother  who  was  over  ninety  years,  and  was 
bed-ridden  for  five  years  before ;  and  he  had  a  father 
who  was  stone  blind,  not  to  speak  of  his  young  wife 
and  three  children,  to  all  of  whom  he  was  devotedly 
attached — but  his  nature  was  of  that  cheery,  hope 
ful  character  which  always  looks  at  the  bright  side 
of  the  picture,  and  his  song  was  ever  of  "  the  good 
time  coining."  Even  now  in  his  prison  cell,  though 
he  chafed  over  it  when  alone,  he  ever  spoke  cheer 
fully  to  his  friends,  especially  to  "Winnie,  telling  her 
pleasantly  she  was  a  little  goose  to  be  making  a 
sprinkling-pot  of  her  eyes,  for  he  would  be  soon  at 
home  with  her,  rocking  the  cradle,  and  smoking  in 
the  chimney  corner.  He  did  really  believe  so  him 
self  ;  and  how  could  he  think  otherwise  ? 


200         THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

He  was  arrested  on  the  19th  of  November,  and 
remained  in  prison  until  the  following  January,  when 
a  special  commission  \vas  appointed  to  try  the  case. 
For  the  benefit  of  those  who  are  unacquainted  witli 
the  customs  relating  to  the  trial  of  prisoners  in  Ire- 
laud,  I  may  as  well  state  that  there  are  two  general 
assizes  held  throughout  the  country — one  in  spring 
and  one  in  summer — at  each  of  which  two  judges 
preside,  one  to  try  civil  and  the  other  criminal  cases. 
All  minor  offenders  are  disposed  of  at  the  quarter 
sessions  held  in  each  county  town.  If,  however,  the 
crime  be  of  a  very  aggravated  character,  and  the 
country  in  such  a  state  of  disturbance  as  to  alarm 
the  peaceably  disposed,  the  loyal  gentry  convene  a 
meeting  and  petition  the  chief  governor,  or  lord 
lieutenant,  as  he  is  called,  to  order  a  special  com 
mission  to  be  held,  in  order  to  strike  terror  into  the 
evil  doers.  This  is  a  very  expensive  proceeding,  and, 
as  the  tax  for  its  payment  is  levied  off  the  county,  it 
is  always  a  very  unpopular  one,  and  only  resorted  to 
in  cases  of  the  most  urgent  necessity.  The  present 
case  was  deemed  one  of  that  nature.  The  person  of 
a  dignitary  of  the  Church  by  law  established  had 
been  murderously  assailed,  and  the  inviolability  of 
the  whole  landlord  class  had  been  struck  at  through 
him.  Such  a  state  of  things  was  not  to  be  borne. 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULA.H.         261 

A  great  meeting  of  the  landed  interest  was  held  at 
Ardmore,  and  a  deputation  sent  to  Dublin  Castle, 
praying  his  excellency  to  appoint  a  special  commis 
sion  to  try  By  ran  Dempsey,  as  it  was  essential  to 
strike  terror  into  all  evil  disposed  tenants.  Accord 
ingly  the  commission  was  appointed,  to  be  opened 
on  Tuesday,  January  20th,  1846.* 

The  court  opened  at  eleven  o'clock  A.  M.,  when  the 
chief  justice  of  common  pleas  and  the  chief  baron  of 
the  exchequer  took  their  seats  on  the  bench.  The 
town  was  crowded  from,  an  early  hour  by  people 
from  all  parts  of  the  surrounding  counties,  who  were 
most  anxious  about  the  result  of  the  proceedings. 

An  immense  number  of  constabulary  were  col 
lected  in  the  town,  both  horse  and  foot.  Notwith 
standing  the  declaration  of  the  landlords  that  the 
country  was  plunged  in  agrarian  outrages,  the  only 
case  of  any  importance  on  the  calendar  was  that  of 
firing  at  the  Right  Reverend  Bishop  Biggs,  of  Glen- 
goulah  Castle.  • 

A  large  number  of  Catholic  clergy  of  the  sur 
rounding  districts  were  present  during  the  trial. 
The  court  was  thronged  from  an  early  hour  by  the 
gentry  of  the  county.  A  vast  number — in  fact  all 

*  See  the  account  of  Bryan  Seery's  trial,  January  20th,  1846  (•'  for  an  at 
tempt  to  murder  Sir  Fras>.  Hopkins,  Bart."),  by  special  commission  held 
at  Mullingar,  County  Meath,  Ireland. 


262        THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

the  jurors  of  the  county — were  summoned,  and  a  very 
full  attendance  of  both  grand  and  petit  jurors  was 
the  result. 

When  the  writ  of  commission  was  read  by  the 
clerk  of  the  crown  the  long  jury  panel  was  called, 
and  a  number  of  gentlemen  sworn  in  on  the  grand 
jury.  The  chief  justice  of  common  pleas  then 
charged  them.  He  said :  "  Gentlemen  of  the  grand 
jury,  I  very  much  regret  that  the  state  of  this 
county  has  been  such  for  the  last  five  months  as  to 
render  it  expedient  for  you  to  assemble  at  this  unu 
sual  period,  and  within  a  few  weeks  of  your  being 
impanelled  at  the  approaching  assizes.  On  looking, 
however,  at  the  official  return  of  the  outrages  that 
have  been  perpetrated  since  the  last  assizes,  I  am 
not  surprised  that  those  who  naturally  feel  the  deep 
est  interest  in  the  welfare  of  this  county  should 
endeavor  speedily  to  put  an  end  to  this  state  of 
things,  and  by  a  prompt  administration  of  the  law 
to  overawe  the  disturbers  of  the  public  peace,  and 
to  afford  security  and  protection  to  the  unoffending 
and  industrious,  and  to  restore  tranquillity  and  order. 
Gentlemen,  it  is  not  my  intention  to  enlarge  on  the 
disastrous  consequences  which  would  result  from 
permitting  your  county  to  remain  any  longer  in  the 
Btate  in  which  it  unhappily  has  been  for  some 


THE  BYBNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        263 

months  past.  I  purposely  and  studiously  abstain 
from  doing  so,  because  I  am  anxious  to  avoid  advert 
ing  to  any  topic  calculated  to  inflame  or  disturb 
that  calmness  with  which  it  is  so  desirable  that  all 
who  take  part  in  the  administration  of  the  criminal 
law  should  approach  the  discharge  of  their  solemn 
duties.  Gentlemen,  from  the  experience  I  have  so 
frequently  had  of  the  manner  in  which  you  discharge 
your  duties  as  grand  jurors,  I  feel  that  you  do  not 
require  any  explanation  or  instruction  from  the 
court.  I  have  the  fullest  reliance  on  the  intelligence 
and  intention  with  which  you  will  proceed  in  the 
examination  of  the  different  charges  which  will  be 
brought  before  you.  You  will  not,  I  am  satisfied, 
suifer  any  indignation  at  the  outrages  that  have  been 
committed,  to  excite  a  prejudice  m.  your  minds 
when  you  are  weighing  the  evidence  against  each 
individual  accused ;  and,  however  those  who  have 
been  engaged  in  the  offences  which  we  deplore  may 
have  insulted  and  violated  the  laws,  I  hope  we  shall 
let  them  see  that  those  laws  will  be  administered  on 
the  present  occasion  not  more  for  the  detection  and 
punishment  of  the  guilty  than  for  the  protection  and 
safety  of  the  innocent,  or  even  those  with  respect  to 
whose  guilt  there  can  exist  a  rational  doubt.  With 
these  few  observations  I  shall  dismiss  vou  for  the 


THE   BYRNES    OF   GLENGOULAH. 

consideration  of  the  business  which  is  prepared  to 
be  laid  before  you." 

The  grand  jury  then  retired.  Bills  were  sent  be 
fore  them,  and  immediately  "  a  true  bill  "  was  found 
against  Dempsey  for  shooting  at  Bishop  Biggs. 
Dempsey  was  then  placed  at  the  bar.  The  indictment 
contained  twelve  counts.  After  twenty  challenges 
on  the  part  of  the  prisoner  a  jury  was  sworn. 

The  clerk  of  the  crown,  having  read  over  an  ab 
stract  of  the  usual  indictment,  asked  the  usual  ques 
tion.  The  prisoner  in  a  firm  voice  pleaded  "  not 
guilty."  The  long  jury  panel  was  then  called  over, 
and  eighty-four  gentlemen  answered  to  their  names. 
A  jury  was  selected  frem  them,  four  of  whom  were 
magistrates. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

BRYAN  DEMPSEY  was  indicted  in  the  usual  form  : 
"  For  that  he,  on  the  18th  day  of  November,  not 
having  the  fear  of  God  before  his  eyes,  aided  by 
some  person  unknown,  unlawfully  and  maliciously 
did  cut  and  wound  the  Right  Rev.  Samuel  Wilson 
Biggs,  Lord  Bishop  of  Glengoulah  and  Ardmore, 
with  the  intent  to  kill  and  murder  him,"  etc.  The 
attorney-general  then  arose  a.nd  said :  "  It  appeared 
to  him  to  be  a  case  where  all  the  witnesses  should  be 
removed  from  the  court." 

Chief  Baron — "  Very  well ;  let  all  the  witnesses 
withdraw  ;  if  they  remain  they  will  be  fined." 

The  witnesses  accordingly  retired. 

The  attorney-general  proceeded  to  state  the  case. 
He  said :  "  From  the  abstract  of  the  indictment 
which  they  (the  jury)  had  heard  read,  they  would  be 
able  to  understand  the  general  nature  of  the  offence 
with  which  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  Bryan  Dempsey, 
stood  charged  before  them.  It  was  one  of  many 
cases  which  unfortunately  had  occurred  in  the  county 
in  a  short  perio  1,  and  which  disgraced  it.  From  the 

12 


266        THE  BYENES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

nature  and  number  of  these  offences  it  was  deemed 
expedient  to  call  the  county  together  on  this  very 
extraordinary  occasion,  with  a  hope  that  by  a 
prompt  and  effective  administration  of  the  law 
the  progress  of  such  crimes  might  be  arrested.  It 
was  thought  necessary  to  issue  a  special  commission, 
in  order  to  investigate  the  case  now  before  them — a 
case  in  which  the  evidence  appeared  to  him  to  be  of 
so  clear  and  satisfactory  a  nature  as  to  warrant  an 
expectation  that  the  perpetrators  of  the  offence  would 
be  brought  to  speedy  justice.  The  present  case  was 
of  that  class  for  most,  and  the  crown  did,  not  call  on 
the  jury  for  a  verdict  unless  the  evidence  was  of  that 
nature  to  render  it  clear.  He  was  sure  the  jury 
would  give  the  matter  their  fullest  consideration,  and 
unless  the  evidence  for  the  crown  was  much  shaken 
with  regard  to  truth,  they  would  find  a  verdict  of 
guilty.  Of  course,  if  they  had  any  reasonable  doubt 
of  the  guilt  of  the  prisoner,  they  would  give  it  to  him, 
and  find  a  verdict  of  not  guilty."  He  then  pro 
ceeded  to  call  the  witnesses.  The  first  witness 
called  was  the  Lord  Bishop  Biggs,  who  was  exam 
ined  by  Sergeant  Poker. 

"  I  live  at  Glengoulah  Castle,  in  this  county,  four 
miles  from  Ardmore.  I  recoilect  the  18th  of  Novem 
ber  last,  and  went  out  to  dinner  at  7  o'clock  in  a 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.         267 

small  carriage  driven  by  an  English  servant.  I 
dined  at  Colonel  Dickson's,  and  left  it  at  25  minutes 
past  12  o'clock.  I  suppose  there  were  about  twenty 
persons  at  the  party.  I  was  perfectly  sober.  There 
was  no  moon,  but  it  was  dusk  or  darkish  twilight. 
I  got  out  of  the  carriage  in  the  avenue,  and  walked 
up  to  the  hall  door.  I  then  walked  up  the  steps,  rang 
the  bell,  and  when  turning  around  heard  a  shot  and 
saw  the  smoke.  I  saw  a  man,  who  ran.  I  followed 
him,  and  in  the  distance  of  about  thirty  yards  came 
up  with  him.  There  is  a  bank  there,  and  I  fell ; 
the  man  fell  also.  I  got  up,  saw  him  with  a  gun, 
seized  it,  and  then  throttled  him.  I  saw  his  counte 
nance  full,  and  looked  at  his  profile.  The  man's  face 
is  indelibly  imprinted  on  my  mind.  I  took  hold  of 
him,  looked  over  my  shoulder,  aud  saw  a  second 
man.  I  let  go  the  lirst,  and  the  second  presented  a 
pistol  at  me.  He  pulled  the  trigger,  but  fortunately 
it  did  not  go  off.  I  knocked  him  down  with  my 
left  hand,  and  struggled  with  him.  The  second  man 
knocked  me  down,  and  repeated  the  blow  five  or  six 
times.  The  blow  was  with  a  horse-pistol.  I  cried 
out '  Help.'  The  hall  door  was  opened  ;  and  when  a, 
light  was  brought,  the  man  ran  away.  I  saw  the 
man  the  next  day,  and  BJC  him  now  in  the  dock — it 
is  Dempsey.  I  know  him  for  eight  years.  He  was 


268         THE  BYRNES  OF  GLKNGOULAH. 

a  tenant  of  mine,  and  was  evicted  about  font  years 
ago.  He  was  a  peaceable  tenant.  When  I  dis 
possessed  him  I  promised  to  get  him  another  farm 
and  pay  a  year's  rent  for  it.  He  never  said  he  was 
dissatisfied.  When  I  seized  him  he  had  no  hat  on 
— the  hat  he  used  to  wear  had  a  peculiar  cut,  and 
any  one  would  know  it.  I  saw  it  at  Glengoulah 
next  morning — it  is  the  same  he  used  to  wear  be 
fore.  I  saw  a  coat  next  morning — it  was  the  pris 
oner's.  I  got  five  wounds  in  the  head,  and  Dr. 
Ferguson  attended  me  in  an  hour.  I  took  means 
next  morning  to  have  the  party  arrested." 

Court — "  Did  you  communicate  the  name  to  any 
one?" 

Prisoner's  counsel  objected,  but  the  court  allowed 
the  question  to  be  put,  and  witness  replied : 

"  I  described  the  person,  and  in  consequence  the 
prisoner  was  arrested  (identified  the  hat  and  coat). 
That  is  like  the  hat  the  prisoner  always  wore  when 
I  saw  him." 

Counsel — "  You  swore  two  informations  next  morn- 
ing?" 

"  Yes.     Can't  say  I  mentioned  about  the  hat." 

Counsel  handed  the  witness  one  of  the  informa 
tions  and  told  him  to  read  it,  which  he  did,  and 
uaid :  "  There  is  nothing  about  a  hat  in  this." 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        269 

"  Read  the  second  information." 

"  There  is  nothing  about  a  hat  in  this  either.  I 
swore  the  second  information  after  I  remembered  it 
was  Bryan  Dempsey  who  had  fired  at  me.  I  know 
him  for  years,  and  saw  him  t'he  following  afternoon, 
about  five  o'clock,  at  Glengoulah,  when  he  was 
brought  into  the  hall.  There  were  several  magis 
trates  there,  and  several  country  people  also.  There 
was  only  one  man  among  them  that  I  recognized. 
They  put  Dempsey  among  the  country  people. 
Don't  know  what  magistrate  did  that.  Thomas  Sel 
ling,  my  butler,  gave  me  the  hat.  I  don't  know  if 
he  is  in  town  at  present.  The  sergeant  of  police 
showed  me  the  coat.  I  think  I  saw  it  in  his  hands 
first  the  following  day  at  five  o'clock.  The  butler 
gave  me  the  hat  in  the  morning.  I  did  not  see  the 
coat  until  five  o'clock.  Don't  know  what  the  ser 
geant  has  sworn  to  now,  if  he  has  sworn  at  all.  I 
have  heard  that  he  did  swear  an  information.  I 
have  no  means  of  knowing  the  fact.  I  don't  know 
if  he  is  to  be  a  witness  here.  I  don't  know  if  Con 
stable  Dougherty  has  sworn  an  information.  I  nev 
er  heard  his  name  before.  Never  heard  there  was 
a  joint  information  sworn  by  the  constables.  Did 
not  speak  to  the  sergeant  about  the  hat.  Sergeant 
heard  me  say  I  knew  the  coat.  Dempsey  was  my 


270        THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGODLAH. 

tenant,  and  surrendered  his  farm  peaceably.  We 
parted  apparent!}'  good  friends.  I  don't  know  where 
the  coat  is.  It  was  twenty  minutes  to  one  when  I 
came  home  on  the  night  in  question.  I  had  no  rea 
son  to  complain  of  the  prisoner's  character  or  con 
duct  while  my  tenant.  If  he  had  had  capital,  I 
would  have  continued  him.  I  never  heard  any 
complaint  against  him." 

Three  servants  of  Lord  Biggs  were  examined  to 
prove  the  finding  of  the  hat  and  coat  near  the  scene 
of  the  attack.  Two  policemen  and  Sandy  McGlau- 
ren  swore  positively  the  hat  belonged  to  Dempsey. 

Mr.  Clements,  Q.  0.,  then  addressed  the  jury  on 
behalf  of  the  prisoner.  He  dwelt  much  on  the  quiet, 
peaceable  character  given  of  him  by  the  landlord 
himself,  who  declared  he  never  appeared  dissatisfied, 
nor  grumbled  at  his  being  ejected,  all  which  .tended 
to  prove  he  could  have  no  motive  for  perpetrating 
the  crime  laid  to  his  charge.  He  said  the  whole 
case  rested  on  the  evidence  of  identification  given 
by  his  lordship,  who  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing 
the  person  only  in  the  dark  and  dead  hour  of  night, 
after  coming  from  a  party.  The  bishop  swore  an 
information  next  morning,  but  the  name  of  the 
prisoner  he  never  mentioned  (he  here  read  the  in 
formation).  Would  they  credit  an  humble  peasant 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        271 

who  would  swear  such  an  information  ?  The  pris 
oner  was  a  tenant  of  the  bishop,  and  did  he  in  his 
information  ever  state  that  Dempsey  was  the  man 
who  tired  at  him  ?  Ilis  lordship  had  made  a  mis 
take  ;  and  he  (Mr.  Clements)  was  prepared  to  prove 
it.  With  reference  to  the  evidence  given  by  the 
policeman,  it  was  painful  to  witness  the  exhibition 
made  there  that  day.  It'  human  lives *were  to  de 
pend  on  such  evidence  as  that  given  by  them  no 
man  in  society  would  be  safe.  They  never  had  the 
hat  in  their  hands  and  only  saw  it  once,  but  when 
or  where  they  could  not  tell ;  and  yet  the  jury  were 
called  on  to  take  away  the  life  of  the  prisoner  at  the 
bar  on  the  proof  of  identity  of  a  peasant's  hat !  God 
forbid  people's  lives  should  depend  on  such  evidence, 
or  that  a  jury  could  be  found  to  convict  a  man  of 
capital  felony  on  such  swearing !  It  was  even  six 
days  after  the  prisoner  was  arrested  that  the  informa 
tions  were  sworn  by  the  policemen  and  land-steward 
about  the  hat.  He  would  ask  them,  as  honest,  con 
scientious  men,  could  they  find  a  verdict  against  the 
prisoner.  He  would  now  proceed  to  give  proofs 
which  would  save  the  prisoner's  life,  without  even 
the  shadow  of  a  doubt  as  to  his  guilt.  He  would 
account  for  the  prisoner  on  that  night  by  persons  of 
respectability,  and  beyond  doubt.  The  evidence 


272         THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

that  would  be  given  was,  that  the  prisoner,  after 
leaving  his  farm,  took  potato  ground  from  his  uncle, 
a  man  named  Keigan,  and  a  most  respectable  fanner. 
On  the  Monday  before  the  outrage  the  prisoner  went 
to  dig  his  potatoes,  and  was  asleep  eight  miles  away 
from  Glengoulah  at  the  time  the  bishop  was  attacked. 
He  would  now  prove  his  case. 

Bridget  Keigan  swore  that  on  the  night  of  the 
attack  Dempsey  slept  at  "her  house.  She  saw  him 
at  ten  o'clock  on  the  Monday  night,  and  after  lock 
ing  the  doors  went  to  bed.  On  getting  up  next 
morning  she  found  them  still  locked  as  she  left  them 
The  prisoner  •  came  down  stairs  with  her  son  some 
time  after.  He  slept  there  on  Tuesday  night  also. 
Glengoulah  is  eight  miles  from  where  Mrs.  Keigan 
lives.  Mary  and  Catharine  Keigan,  daughters  of 
the  last  witness,  corroborated  her  statement  in  every 
particular. 

John  Keigan  examined :  Remembers  the  time 
Bishop  Biggs  was  fired  at,  and  when  the  prisoner 
was  arrested.  Gave  the  same  account  of  the  tran 
sactions  mentioned  by  the  other  witnesses.  He 
said  the  prisoner  slept  with  him  on  Monday  night 
and  on  Tuesday  night.  The  witness  got  up  on 
Tuesday  morning  at  daylight,  and  the  prisoner  got 
up  also. 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGuUL.YU.         273 

Mr.  Gordon — "  On  your  oath,  from  the  time  you 
went  to  bed  on  Monday  night,  until  you  got  up,  did 
Bryan  Dempsey  leave  the  room  ?  " 

"  He  did  not  leave  the  room  that  night,  nor  could 
not  without  my  knowing  if.  I  was  never  at  Glen- 
goulah  Castle,  but  I  know  where  it  is.  It  is  eight 
miles  from  my  father's ;  and  a  person  going  there 
must  either*go  that  distance,  or  fly  across  the  lake." 

Some  other  witnesses  were  examined,  but  their 
evidence  was  totally  void  of  public  interest.* 

*  This  account  of  the  trial  is  taken  verbatim  from  the  Dublin  Nation 
newspaper  of  January,  1846,  and  February. 

12* 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

THE  Reverend  Father  Esmond,  though  gasping 
with  asthma,  and  leaning  for  support  upon  the  arm 
of  Mr.  De  Courcy,  arose  and  gave  a  very  high  char 
acter  to  the  prisoner,  having  known  him  from  child 
hood.  He  said :  "  His  filial  piety  to  a  blind  father 
and  a  paralyzed  grandmother  were  the  admiration 
of  all  who  knew  him.  When  a  mere  stripling  he 
was  deprived  by  death  of  a  mother's  care,  and  yet 
lie  seemed  to  cling  with  all  the  more  tenderness,  and 
a  gentleness  almost  feminine,  to  the  infirm  beings 
whom  Heaven  had  left  dependent  on  his  youthful 
care.  For  many  years  he  was  seen,  by  hundreds 
now  listening,  every  Sunday  at  the  chapel  of  Tin- 
manogue,  lifting  his  helpless  parents  from  the  car  in 
which  he  brought  them,  and  tenderly  supporting 
them  to  the  seat  provided  for  them  near  the  altar. 
This  attention  he  never  slackened,  even  when  he 
became  a  husband  and  a  father,  or  when  evicted 
from  his  farm  and  placed  in  altered  circumstances 
— never  until  he  laid  them  respectfully  to  rest  among 
their  kindred  dead.  I  have  watched  him  too  in 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH.  Si  75 

the  relation  of  husband,  father,  neighbor,  friend — 
in  all  he  has  been  the  true  man ;  upright,  honest, 
brave,  high-principled.  At  the  time  when  he  was 
evicted  from  his  farm,  when  the  fire  was  quenched 
from  his  hearth,  and  his  helpless  parents  carried  out 
in  torrents  of  rain,  almost  on  the  eve  of  Christmas — 
I  was  an  eye-witness  of  it  all — the  only  tongue  that 
uttered  no  unkind  word  was  that  of  Bryan  Demp- 
sey.  He  actually  endeavored  to  turn  their  misfor 
tunes  into  a  subject  of  merriment,  trying  to  infuse  a 
spirit  of  cheerfulness  and  hope  into  the  hearts  he 
loved — a  spirit  which  I  well  knew  he  did  not  him 
self  feel ;  but  Bryan  Dempsey  was  a  stranger  to  self — 
he  lived  only  in  those  he  loved.  Had  I  a  hundred 
lives,  I  would  stake  all  this  moment  on  the  inno 
cence  of  Bryan  Dempsey.  He  never  lifted  a  hand 
to  injure  any  man ;  nay,  I  verily  believe  he  never 
harbored  an  injurious  thought  of  his  greatest  enemy. 
This  virtuous  man,  gentlemen,  is  a  very  humble  one 
in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  but  very  dear  to  the  heart 
of  his  Heavenly  Father.  See  you  touch  not  a  hair 
of  his  head  !"  The  venerable  old  man  became  so  ex 
cited  during  his  brief  speech  that  his  eyes  flashed 
and  his  face  glowed,  while  tears  streamed  down  his 
aged  cheeks.  At  the  conclusion  of  his  speech  sobs 
and  cries  attested  the  deep  feeling  which  touched 


276        THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

every  heart.  Even  the  very  wretches  who  thirsted 
for  the  blood  of  this  virtuous  peasant  remained  si 
lent  for  some  time  for  very  shame.  The  gallant 
prisoner,  who  bore  himself  so  bravely  all  through, 
was  so  overcome  by  the  noble  testimony  borne  by 
his  venerable  friend  and  spiritual  father  that  he 
leaned  over  the  dock  and  sobbed  like  an  infant.  Mr. 
De  Courcy  then  arose,  remarking  "  that  it  would 
be  superfluous  to  add  another  word  to  the  testimony 
of  Father  Esmond  regarding  the  prisoner's  character, 
in  every  sentence  of  which  he  concurred,  having 
known  Dempsey  since  he  was  a  baby  in  his  mother's 
arms."  This  closed  the  defence. 

Sergeant  Babbett  then  proceeded  to  reply  on  the 
part  of  the  crown.  His  observations  were  confined  to 
the  evidence. 

At  nine  o'clock  the  chief  baron  proceeded  to  sum 
up  the  evidence,  which  he  did  by  reading  the  testi 
mony  given  by  the  witnesses,  and  offering  a  few 
brief  observations  as  he  went  along.  The  jury  then 
retired. 

At  half-past  ten  they  came  out  and  said  there  was 
little  probability  of  their  agreeing,  and  asked  for  a 
tire  and  their  coats. 

Bailiffs  were  then  sworn,  and  the  court  adjourned 
to  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning. 


TIIK    BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH.  277 

Oh  !  what  a  night  of  anguish  for  that  virtuous 
family — the  alternate  feelings  of  hope  and  despair 
which  scorched  their  souls !  None  thought  of  sleep, 
and  many  of  the  neighbors  came  to  watch  with 
them.  The  chief  baron  said  if  the  jury  agreed  be 
fore  twelve  o'clock  he  would  come  and  receive  the 
verdict.  At  eight  o'clock  on  Wednesday  morning 
his  lordship  sent  to  know  if  the  jury  had  agreed, 
but  was  answered  in  the  negative.  It  may  be  re 
marked  here  that  the  jury  panel  contained  the 
names  of  every  gentleman  who  had  signed  the  requisi 
tion  for  the  issuing  of  this  commission. 

At  ten  o'clock  on  Wednesday  the  chief  justice 
of  the  common  pleas  and  the  chief  baron  took 
their  seats  on  the  bench,  when  the  jury  were  called 
into  court. 

Chief  Baron — "  Well,  gentlemen,  have  you  agreed 
to  your  verdict  ? " 

Foreman — "  No,  my  lord ;  we  have  not." 

"  Is  there  any  likelihood  of  your  agreeing  ?  " 

"  Not  the  least,  my  lord." 

"  Under  these  circumstances,  gentlemen,  you  must 
again  retire  to  your  room.  There  is  no  alternative ; 
we  have  no  discretion  in  the  matter." 

"  My  lord,  there  is  not  the  least  use  in  our  retir 
ing  again,  as  there  is  no  possibility  of  our  ever  agree- 


278        THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

ing.  There  are  ten  of  us  one  way,  and  two  another ; 
so,  my  lord,  you  may  be  good  enough  to  discharge 
us,  for  agree  we  never  will  on  this  case.  We  are  now 
twenty-four  hours  locked  up  in  our  room,  with  only 
some  water  for  refreshment,  and  a  very  indiffer 
ent  fire,  and  some  of  us  in  very  poor  health  indeed. 
Our  room  is  more  like  a  dungeon  than  anything  else. 
If  we  are  confined  any  longer  it  may  seriously  en 
danger  our  lives." 

"  It  is  indeed  a  great  hardship,  gentlemen,  and  we 
feel  very  much  for  your  situation  ;  but  we  have  not 
the  power,  gentlemen,  under  the  circumstances,  to 
act  otherwise.  You  must  again  return  to  your  room." 

"  My  lord,  if  there  was  the  most  remote  probabili 
ty  of  our  agreeing  we  would  not  make  this  applica 
tion  ;  besides,  we  are  likely  to  be  starved  to  death 
if  we  are  kept  any  longer  confined.'" 

"  It  is  a  great  hardship,  no  doubt,  and  I  assure 
you  we  feel  for  your  situation  ;  but  we  can  do  noth 
ing.  You  must  again  retire,  gentlemen." 

Chief  Justice — "  We  feel  conscious  of  the  situa 
tion  you  are  in,  and  feel  very  much  for  your  position. 
Perhaps,  if  you  look  over  your  notes,  you  may  come 
to  some  conclusion  ;  and  if  you  require  any  assist 
ance,  the  learned  chief  baron  who  tried  the  case  will 
render  you  every  assistance." 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        279 

After  a  short  discussion  the  jury  slowly  retired, 
protesting  they  would  be  starved.  The  court  or 
dered  a  good  fire  to  be  put  in  the  jury-room,  which 
being  done  the  jury  were  again  locked  up. 

At  half-past  eight  o'clock  p.  M.  the  jury,  not  hav 
ing  agreed  to  a  verdict,  were  discharged,  after  hav 
ing  been  locked  up  thirty-six  hours.  The  attorney- 
general  immediately  announced  that  he  would  again 
put  the  prisoner  on  his  trial  on  the  Thursday  follow 
ing.  This  announcement  caused  the  utmost  excite 
ment  throughout  the  town  ;  and  the  friends  of  the 
prisoner,  who  were  very  numerous  and  respectable, 
and  even  the  prisoner's  counsel,  were  taken  by  sur 
prise,  as  they  did  not  anticipate  (notwithstanding 
their  declaration  of  readiness)  a  second  trial  of  the 
prisoner  at  that  commission. 

It  was  quite  clear  from  the  time  the  jury  retired, 
that  they  would  not  agree,  and  the  announcement 
made  by  the  foreman,  that  there  were  ten  for  convic 
tion  and  two  not,  was  canvassed  very  freely  as  a 
most  extraordinary  intimation,  and  most  certainly 
influenced  the  prosecutors  to  bring  on  the  trial  again. 
They  determined,  no  doubt,  to  mend  their  hand  next 
time  in  the  selection  of  a  willing  jury,  and  thus  se 
cure  a  conviction.  The  general  impression  was  that 
the  prisoner  would  ha  /e  been  held  over  until  the 


280  THE   BYRNES    OF    GLENGOULAFI. 

Spring  Assizes,  when  the  excitement  then  existing 
on  the  subject  would  have  ceased  ;  but  it  was  no  part 
of  the  landlord  plan  to  let  reflection  take  the  place  of 
passion  :  a  landlord  was  fired  at,  and  some  one  mu-st 
suffer  for  such  a  daring  crime — be  he  guilty  or  in 
nocent  it  did  not  matter  a  pin's  point.  Assuredly 
no  one  could  be  so  mad  as  to  suppose  the  life  of  a 
peasant,  however  guiltless,  could  be  compared  to  the 
atrocious  attempt  to  take  the  life  of  Samuel  "W. 
Biggs,  Lord  Bishop  of  Glengoulah,  with  its  castle 
and  its  broad  acres  !  The  counsel  on  both  sides 
were  in  attendance  at  the  sitting  of  the  court.  The 
building  was  thronged  to  excess,  and  the  town 
was  tilled  with  country  people  to  ascertain  the  result 
of  poor  Dem  psey's  trial.  The  prisoner's  counsel  ap 
plied  for  a  postponement  of  the  case  to  the  Assizes, 
but  were  refused.  The  most  barefaced  anxiety  was 
expressed  for  a  conviction,  and  all  prudence  thrown 
aside,  so  much  so  that  the  prisoner's  most  earnest 
friends  gave  up  all  hope  of  justice.  From  the 
judges  on  the  bench  to  the  constables  at  the  doors, 
all  thirsted  for  the  blood  of  this  innocent  man.  The 
judge's  charge,  respecting  the  outrages  so  very  fre 
quent  in  the  country,  was  not  only  magnified  but 
misrepresented.  On  Thursday,  January  31st,  Bry 
an  Dempsey  was  tried  a  second  time.  After  hearing 


THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        281 

a  repetition  of  the  evidence  adduced  on  the  first  trial, 
and  deliberating  from  eight  o'clock  to  miunight,  a 
verdict  of  guilty  was  returned  by  a  packed  jury. 

Those  present  in  court  that  night  will  never  for 
get  the  scene  to  their  dying  hour.  Rain  fell  in  tor 
rents,  but  the  packed  streets  bore  testimony  to  the 
intense  anxiety  of  the  people.  The  silence  of  the 
grave  fell  upon  all  inside  as  the  foreman,  pale  and 
with  trembling  tongue,  uttered  the  foul  falsehood. 
The  very  lights  seemed  to  flicker  and  blink  with 
shame  when  the  chief  baron  arose  and  expressed  his 
concurrence  with  the  verdict  of  the  jury.  Then  put 
ting  on  his  black  cap  and  gloves  he  sentenced  Bryan 
Dempsey  to  be  hanged  on  a  day  hereafter  to  be 
named  !  The  heroic  prisoner  received  the  sentence 
with  the  greatest  self-posaession  and  nerve.  Bishop 
Biggs,  arising  hastily,  grasped  the  arm  of  the  Mar 
quis  of  J£astfield,  and  entered  into  an  earnest  conver 
sation  with  the  judges.  The  bishop  seemed  terribly 
excited.  Soon  the  crowd  began  to  sway  from  side 
to  side,  and  whispers  were  passed  from  one  to  an 
other,  a  rush  was  made  for  the  doors,  and  it  required 
the  strongest  efforts  of  the  police  and  military,  who 
were  there  in  great  force,  to  keep  anything  like 
order.  Large  groups  of  people,  with  each  an  im 
promptu  spokesman  or  two  among  them,  were  dis- 


282         THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

cussing  some  matter  which  seemed  to  cause  conflict 
ing  feelings  of  hope  and  despair. 

Soon  the  news  spread  like  wildfire  through  the  town 
that  a  man  bearing  the  worst  description  of  charac 
ter — a  successful  evader  of  the  law,  and  altogether  a 
desperate  ruffian — had  been  seen  running  from  the 
Judges  to  Mr.  Margin's  office,  and  from  Margin's  to 
the  priest's,  declaring  before  God  that  he  was  the  man 
who  fired  at  Bishop  Biggs.  He  begged  the  judges, 
for  the  love  of  God,  not  to  hang  an  innocent  man, 
for  that  Dempsey  had  no  hand  or  part  in  the  act,  nor 
did  he  ever  belong  to  Captain  Starlight's  company. 

When  questioned  why  he  allowed  an  innocent 
man  to  be  tried  for  so  foul  a  crime,  he  stated  "  he 
never  dreamed  for  a  moment  that  any  jury  could 
find  Dempsey  guilty,  but  if  they  caught  him  he 
would  be  sure  to  be  condemned.  He  declared  he 
would  have  finished  the  bishop  (and  was  very  sorry 
he  did  not)  but  that  his  lordship  was  so  drunk  when 
knocking  at  the  hall  door  that  he  staggered  from 
the  knocker  to  the  bell  at  the  side  of  the  door,  and 
he,  firing  in  the  interval  of  the  slip,  the  ball  destined 
for  his  lordship's  body  lodged  in  the  door.  He  en 
treated  they  would  try  him  then,,  and  said  he  was 
willing  to  die  to  save  a  just  man — not  in  expiation 
of  such  an  act  as  shooting  at  Biggs — that  he  consid- 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        283 

ered  was  no  crime,  but  a  virtue  to  rid  the  world  of 
such  a  double-dyed  villain — a  serpent  that  sucked 
the  life- blood  of  the  poor." 

"Will  it  be  believed :  the  whole  prosecuting  crew — 
judges  and  landlords — -affected  to  believe  him  crazy, 
and  recommended  he  should  be  sent  to  the  lunatic 
asylum  and  have  his  head  shorn  !  Mr.  De  Courcy 
took  this  man's  sworn  depositions  before  two  reliable 
witnesses.  He  then  drew  up  the  draft  of  a  petition 
to  the  lord  lieutenant,  and  lost  not  a  moment  in 
getting  it  numerously  and  most  respectably  signed. 
In  fact  every  man  of  known  worth  and  integrity 
was  happy  to  sign  such  a  memorial — even  one  of 
the  jurors  signed  it.  Of  course  the  wretched  bigots 
and  persecuting  landlords,  with  a  few  of  those  time- 
servers,  plentiful  in  every  country,  who  fancy  it 
looks  fashionable  to  be  opposed  to  poor  people, 
held  aloof,  or  yet  worse,  declared  against  the  inno 
cent  man.  Be  not  surprised,  dear  reader !  they  were 
the  Pontius  Pilates  of  this  little  episode.  Such  exist 
in  every  state  of  society,  and  in  every  country  under 
the  sun.  Alas !  for  human  respect.  The  fear  of 
being  "cut"  by  some  little  upstart  Caesar  of  the 
day  shuts  their  souls  to  every  noble  sentiment,  and 
extinguishes  every  spark  of  principle,  without  which 
man  is  unworthy  of  the  name ! 


CHAPTEK  XXV. 

SOON  those  legal  murderers  heard  of  the  petition 
and  immediately  took  counsel  together,  and  appoint 
ing  a  deputation  started  them  to  Dublin.  The 
viceroy  was  already  closeted  with  a  deputation  of  a 
very  different  character.  Some  half  dozen  gentle 
men  of  high  character  and  position,  and  bearing 
historic  names,  came  to  seek  the  god-like  preroga 
tive  of  mercy  at  the  hands  of  the  representative  of 
the  sovereign.  Among  them  was  the  "  observed  of 
all  observers,"  the  Rev.  Father  Esmond,  now  on  the 
verge  of  one  hundred  years,  emaciated  and  droop 
ing,  laboring  to  breathe,  and  so  weak  as  to  be  sus 
tained  by  the  arms  of  Mr.  De  Courcy  and  Sir 
Lawrence  O'Donnell,  of  Park  Castle.  His  snow- 
white  hair  flowed  down  his  shoulders,  and  nothing 
could  be  more  affecting  than  the  noble  appeal  made 
by  the  venerable  father  on  behalf  of  Bryan  Demp- 
sey.  The  tire  of  his  eloquence  seemed  to  arrest  for 
the  time  the  disease  under  which  he  labored.  His 
language  flowed  with  tie  force  and  rapidity  of  a 
mountain  torrent,  tearing  to  shreds  the  vile  efforts 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        285 

resorted  to  for  obtaining  a  conviction  of  guilt;  the 
vindictive  motives  which  impelled  Bishop  Biggs  ;  the 
heart-rending  scenes  of  the  eviction ;  the  wondrous 
patience  of  the  people  ;  the  firm  conviction  in  every 
mind  of  Dempsey's  innocence,  even  before  the  real 
murderer  had  appeared.  He  then  dwelt  on  the  un 
blemished  character,  high  principles  and  sterling 
worth  of  this  poor  peasant  whose  life  hung  upon  the 
decision  of  his  excellency,  and  who  awaited  his  fate 
with  the  heroism  of  a  martyr.  He  wound  up  by 
Baying : 

"  My  lord,  I  beseech  you  hear  my  words !  The 
voice  now  sounding  in  your  excellency's  ear  is  as  a 
voice  from  the  grave.  This  is  my  last  appeal  to 
mortal  ear  ;  in  a  few  days  more  I  shall  be  numbered 
among  the  dead.  Soothe  the  dying  hours  of  an  old 
man  who  has  spent  nearly  a  century  on  earth,  and 
God's  blessing  will  rest  upon  you  forever !  " 

The  viceroy  listened  to  him  with  the  deepest  at 
tention,  never  taking  his  eyes  from  the  venerable 
form.  It  is  said  he  was  visibly  affected  by  the  ap 
peal,  but  yet  he  gave  no  decisive  answer,  merely 
stating  he  would  consider  the  petition  and  give  an 
early  reply.  "  I  would  beg  to  remind  your  excel 
lency,"  exclaimed  Mr.  De  Courcy,  "  there  are  but  a 
few  days  left ;  the  13th  is  named  for  the  execution  " 


286        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

The  viceroy  bowed,  and  the  deputation  left  actu 
ated  by  conflicting  feelings.  Some  had  strong  hopes 
of  a  pardon ;  others  hoped  and  feared  alternately. 
Father  Esmond  alone  felt  sure  of  a  refusal. 

"  Deceive  not  yourselves,  my  dear  friends,"  said 
he ;  "  he  has  to  die  ;  I  feel  it,  and  his  old  priest  has  to 
pass  him  through  that  ordeal.  Well,  my  God  ;  your 
will  be  done  !  I  know  it.  I  have  that  last  effort  to 
make  for  my  poor  child ;  and  then,  O  Lord  !  let  Thy 
servant  depart  in  peace  !  "  Shortly  after  the  friends 
of  justice  had  departed  the  landlord  deputation  were 
ushered  into  the  presence  of  the  viceroy,  whose 
prejudices  they  worked  upon  for  their  own  selfish 
ends,  declaring  they  could  not  live  in  the  country 
if  Dempsey  were  pardoned. 

"  It  is  necessary,"  said  they,  "  that  an  example 
should  be  made,  in  order  to  preserve  the  future  tran 
quillity  and  loyalty  of  the  country ;  for,  if  the  agita 
tors  can  now  obtain  a  triumph,  they  will  burst  into 
open  rebellion  against  her  majesty  and  her  liege 
subjects !  "  or,  in  other  words,  they  said  :  "  It  is  ex- 
•pedient  that  one  should  die  for  the  people.  If  you 
miss  this  man  you  are  no  friend  of  Csesar." 

Could  any  language  be  more  alike  ? 

The  viceroy  promised  an  immediate  investigation 
of  the  case  and  dismissed  them. 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        287 

On  the  next  day  Father  Esmond  received  an  offi 
cial  communication  from  his  excellency's  secretary, 
regretting  he  could  not  comply  with  the  prayer  of 
the  petitioners  regarding  the  pardon  of  the  prisoner 
Dempsey. 

All  were  more  or  less  disappointed,  excepting  two 
— Father  Esmond  and  Winnie. 

Despair  seized  on  poor  Winnie  from  the  moment 
her  eye  lighted  on  the  constable  as  he  stood  in  the 
doorway  of  her  happy  home,  throwing  a  shadow 
across  the  cottage  floor,  and  a  deeper  and  more  last 
ing  one  across  her  heart.  Frequently  adverting  to 
that  day,  she  would  say  to  her  father : 

"  Oh,  father !  I  wish  you  saw  us  that  day ;  we  were 
so  happy.  He  threw  himself  back  in  the  chair,  and 
we  both  laughed  from  our  hearts  out.  It  was  our 
last  on  earth.  The  poor  little  ones  all  began  laugh 
ing  too,  even  to  the  baby,  who  kicked  and  crowed. 
That  set  her  father  in  a  kink ;  wrhen  it  seemed  as  if 
the  sun  went  out  of  a  sudden.  And,  och  !  och  !  it  did 
go  out  sure  enough,  and  will  never  rise  again  for  me. 
Oh,  father  !  father !  how  can  I  live  and  think  of  my 
brave  Bryan  dyin'  on  a  gallows  ?  And  how  can  I 
look  my  poor  orphans  in  the  face  ?  Oh,  God  !  have 
mercy  on  my  soul !  " 

Her   father  looking  at  her,  compassion  and   ro 


288         THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAII. 

proach  mingled  in  his  gentle  features,  would  ex 
claim  :  "  Oh,  Winnie,,  my  lannah  bawn !  what's  that 
you're  sayin'  ?  I  know  you  did  not  think  of  yourself, 
or  you  would  not  talk  as  if  it  was  any  disgrace  to 
die  a  martyr  for  Him  who  died  as  a  criminal  for  us 
upon  a  tree.  Don't  you  know  well,  Winnie,  if  Bry 
an  was  not  the  heart's  blood  of  a  good  Catholic  he 
need  have  no  fears  of  judge  or  jury  ?  Do  you  think 
if  he  was  an  Orangeman,  or  such  a  Catholic  as  could 
be  brought  over — like  some  we  know — they  would 
touch  a  hair  of  his  head  ?  ISTo,  child  ;  he  would  be 
working  his  own  farm  still,  and  living  in  the  house 
where  he  and  his  generations  before  him  were  born. 
But  God  forbid  child  of  mine  was  ever  the  wife  of 
an  unprincipled  man.  I  always  loved  Bryan  Demp- 
sey ;  and  a  proud  man  I  am  this  night  to  think  that 
they  could  neither  buy  him  with  their  wealth  nor 
terrify  him  with  their  threats.  If  they  hang  him  he 
will  die  a  martyr ;  but  they  may  not  be  so  bad  as 
you  think,  after  all,  Winnie.  Don't  be  givin'  way 
to  such  black  thoughts;  God  is  good." 

"  Oh,  father  !  don't  try  to  raise  my  hopes;  I  know 
\\  eli  he  has  no  mercy  to  expect  from  them.  I  know 
he  will  die  a  true  and  brave  martyr.  Oh,  God  !  for 
give  me  for  repinin'.  Father  O'Tool  was  telling 
me  and  Bryan  yesterday  in  the  jail  how  they  used 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        289 

to  hunt  priests  in  the  time  of  Queen  Elizabeth  ;  and 
how,  when  they'd  catch  them,  they'd  half  hang 
them,  then  tear  their  hearts  out  and  they  still  alive, 
and  cut  them  up  in  quarters.  It  made  my  heart 
sick.  Father!  how  can  human  beings  be  so  cruel  ? 
Sure,  that's  worse  than  the  brutes." 

"  Brutes,  child  !  I  wouldn't  name  them  the  same 
day  with  brutes.  When  human  beings  lose  the 
grace  of  God  they  sink  below  the  beasts  of  the  field. 
Yes,  indeed,  Winnie,  we  must  belong  either  to  God 
or  the  devil ;  if  God  abandons  us  to  our  own  pas 
sions,  sure  we're  blacker  than  any  devil.  The  cross 
of  Chri  t  1  e  ab'uit  us!  "  and  Winnie  and  her  father 
crossed  themselves  reverently.  The  13th  was  named 
for  the  execution.  I  will  not  harrow  my  readers  by 
describing  the  parting  scene  between  Winnie  and  the 
husband  she  so  devotedly  loved,  and  their  five  little 
children.  Not  a  tear  came  from  Winnie,  for  her 
grief  was  past  tears.  She  fainted  many  times,  and 
was  at  last  carried  away  insensible,  amidst  the  cries 
of  her  little  ones,  by  her  afflicted  relatives.  Father 
Esmond  and  Father  O'Tool  entered  the  cell  soon 
after  Winnie  left,  and  found  poor  Bryan  prostrate 
on  the  floor,  little  more  than  half  alive.  This  was 
the  evening  of  the  12th ;  and  before  the  jail  was 
closed  for  the  night  a  declaration  was  drawn  up  and 
13  ' 


290        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

witnessed  by  these   two  reverend  gentlemen,  two 
magistrates  of  the  county,  the  deputy    overnor  of 
the  jail,  and  one  of  Dempsey's  legal  advisers.     The 
following  is  a  verbatim  copy  of  the  document : 
"  County  of  Wicklow,  to  wit : 

"  I,  Bryan  Dempsey,  now  a  prisoner  in  Ardmore 
jail,  and  to  be  on  to-morrow  executed,  do  most  sol 
emnly  and  sincerely  declare  in  the  presence  of  that 
God  before  whom  I  must  shortly  appear  for  judg 
ment,  that  I  never  tired  at  the  Right  Reverend 
Bishop  Biggs,  that  I  never  committed  any  act  tending 
to  injure  him  in  person  or  property,  that  I  never 
was  cognizant  of  or  party  to  any  conspiracy  or  plot 
to  shoot  or  injure  the  said  Right  Reverend  Bishop 
Biggs ;  and  that  I  am  not  guilty,  directly  or  in 
directly,  of  the  crime  for  which  I  am  to  be  hanged. 

"  Witnessed  on  this  12th  day  of  February,  184-6, 
by  the  undersigned." 

Here  followed  the  signatures. 

Father  O'Tool  remained  all  night  in  the  cell  of 
the  martyr,  praying  with  him  when  awake,  and  for 
him  while  he  slept.  At  length  the  fatal  morning 
dawned.  When  poor  Bryan  awoke  from  his  last 
living  sleep  his  heart  died  within  him,  and  the  room 
seemed  to  swim  around.  Wildly  he  thought  of  his 
loved  home  and  its  dear  inmates,  and  his  heart 


THE    BYKNES    OF    GLENGOULAH. 

yearned  to  see  them  once  again ;  but  a  mournful 
voice  seemed  to  sound  in  bis  ears — "  Never  more, 
Bryan  Dempsey  !  never  more  !  To-day  you  die  a 
felon's  death  for  murder !  "  Stretching  out  his  hands, 
he  cried  aloud,  "Oh,  God!  it  is  only  a  frightful 
dream  ;  it  cannot  be  !  " 

Father  O'Tool  was  beside  him  instantly.  "  My 
poor  Bryan,  have  courage  !  " 

"  Oh  !  father  dear.  Oh  !  father  asthore,  machree ! 
Sure  I  never  hurted  any  man  in  my  life  ;  it  can't  be 
they  will  hang  an  innocent  man  !  " 

Father  O'Tool  silently  presented  him  with  the 
crucifix.  He  eagerly  grasped  it,  and  pressed  to  his 
lips  the  representation  of  the  bleeding  feet.  Sink 
ing  upon  his  knees,  he  exclaimed:  "  Oh,  blessed 
Jesus  !  you  died  on  a  felon  tree  for  love  of  me ;  and 
why  should  I  refuse  to  die  for  love  of  you !  For 
give  the  murmuriugs  of  my  weak  heart,  and  give  me 
strength  that  I  may  die  with  the  fortitude  becoming 
a  Christian.  Oh,  merciful  Lord !  receive  my  soul 
into  life  everlasting." 

Father  Esmond  arrived  early  and  administered  to 
him  the  Most  Adorable  Sacrament  for  the  last  time, 
as  he  had  also  done  his  first  Communion.  He 
prayed  with  him  long  and  tenderly,  and  told  him 
many  anecdotes  of  the  wonderful  graces  and  lights 


292         THE  BYRNES  OF  GLKNGOULAH. 

bestowed  bj  the  Almighty  upon  those  who  are  con 
demned  to  death  unjustly.  Soon  as  the  clock  struck 
twelve  they  recited  the  "Angelus"  together,  and 
then  Father  Esmond  said :  "  Bryan,  ray  child !  your 
hour  of  glory  is  come !  "  He  answered,  in  a  firm 
voice  :  "  I  am  ready.  I  follow  Christ.  I  declare  I 
am  an  innocent  man  ! "  He  then  moved  after  the 
governor  of  the  prison  to  the  fatal  drop,  answering, 
while  Father  O'Tool  repeated  the  litany  of  Jesus: 
"  Lord,  have  mercy  on  me  !  Christ,  have  mercy  on 
me !  "  "When  he  came  in  front  of  the  jail,  the  pale, 
haggard  face  and  mournful  eyes  of  him  so  full  of 
life,  and  once  so  gay,  smote  every  heart,  and  a  cry  of 
anguish  burst  from  the  few  spectators  present. 
Bryan  held  the  crucifix  in  his  hand  and  exclaimed, 
in  a  clear  deep  voice,  which  fell  upon  the  heart  in 
tones  not  to  be  disbelieved  or  doubted :  "  I  declare 
before  my  God,  that  I  had  neither  act,  hand,  part, 
nor  knowledge  of  the  crime  for  which  I  am  going 
to  die  here ! " 

The  consummation  had  not  yet  come :  the  victim 
was  kept  waiting  for  his  doom  for  an  hour  afterward. 
It  was  reported  that  Sir  Gideon  Chapman,  the  com 
mander  of  the  garrison,  was  expecting  a  reprieve  by 
the  one  o'clock  Dublin  train  for  a  man  who  was  sen 
tenced  to  die  at  twelve!  These  lying  and  cruel 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        293 

reports,  however,  did  not  move  the  people  to  a 
belief  that  the  overseers'of  the  tragedy  were  sincere  ; 
they  only  made  them  more  despised.  One  man 
asked  of  another  in  the  street  if  the  prisoner  had 
fainted,  or  was  the  execution  postponed  ?  "  No," 
was  the  reply.  "  He  is  too  strong  in  his  innocence, 
and  they  want  to  keep  him  on  and  off  for  a  wldle  to 
see  if  he'll  die  like  a  dog." 

Poor  Father  Esmond,  gasping  for  breath  and 
shivering  in  every  limb  that  cold  gloomy  day,  >till 
stood  with  the  prisoner's  hand  clasped  in  his. 

"  Oh  !  father,  asthore !  your  reverence  is  killing 
yourself  for  me-;  and  what  are  a  thousand  lives  like 
mine  to  yours  ?  Oh  !  father,  'honey  !  you're  almost 
dead ;  won't  you  go  to  the  fire  and  sit  down  ?" 

"  No,  my  poor  child ;  I  thank  you  most  kindly. 
But  you  surely  do  not  want  to  part  with  your  old 
spiritual  father  ?" 

"  Part  ?  Oh,  would  to  God  I  could  have  you  with 
me  before  the  judgment-seat ;  you  would  plead  for 
my  poor  soul  to  the  God  of  mercies." 

"  No,  Bryan  ;  you  will  be  alone  there  ;  but  you 
will  stand  before  your  Heavenly  Father,  who  loves 
you  more  than  I  could  ever  do.  I  too  shall  In; 
there  very,  very  soon  after  you  ;  we  shall  not  i-o 
parted  long.  I  feel  it  here.  In  a  !e\v  days  we  sliali 


294        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

meet  again,  and  then — then,  Bryan,  '  eye  hath  not 
seen,  ear  hath  not  heard,  nor  hath  it  entered  into 
the  heart  of  man  to  conceive  the  joys  our  Heavenly 
Father  has  waiting  for  us  !' " — the  eyes  of  the  ven 
erable  saint  were  fixed  on  the  sky.  "  Do  you  not 
already  hear  the  rushing  of  the  angelic  hosts  around 
the  throne  of  our  King  and  our  God?  Already  the 
far-off  strains  of  celestial  harmony  strike  upon  my 
ear!" 

Bryan  fell  upon  his  knees.  "  Father,  give  me 
your  last  blessing  and  absolution.  I  would  not  ex 
change  this  death  for  the  wealth  and  power  of  the 
whole  world." 

Father  Esmond  laid  his  hand  upon  his  head,  and 
ere  the  last  words  died  upon  his  lips  the  officials 
came  to  conduct  him  to  the  fatal  drop.  Both  priests 
warmly  clasped  his  hands;  and  Father  Esmond, 
raising  aloft  the  crucifix,  exclaimed — (as  Abbe  Edge- 
worth  did,  in  similar  words,  to  Louis  XVI.) — "  Mar 
tyred  victim  of  tyranny !  go  and  be  tried  before  a 
just  tribunal !  " 

The  old  man  fainted  and  was  borne  away  as  the 
drop  fell. 

All  this  time  not  a  sound  could  be  heard  in  the 
streets,  not  a  footstep  broke  the  awful  stillness  ;  and, 
except  the  clergy  in  attendance,  the  law  officials,  the 


THE  BYKNES  OF  GLEKGOULAH.        295 

reporters,  and  the  military,  who  in  large  force  sur 
rounded  the  prison  and  stopped  up  every  approach 
to  it,  not  a  human  eye  was  bent  to  see  this  example 
of  the  law's  vindication.  All  business  was  sus 
pended;  nearly  all  the  shops  in  Ardmore — Protes 
tants  as  well  as  Catholics — were  closed.  Traders, 
who  had  come  from  Dublin  to  attend  the  butter  and 
wool  market,  usually  largely  supplied  on  Fridays, 
were  disappointed  to  find  not  a  single  pound  offered 
for  sale,  and  the  market  as  deserted  as  a  wilderness. 
Deep  grief  was  in  every  home,  and  it  seemed  as  if 
the  destroying  angel  had  passed  over  the  town — its 
streets  deserted,  its  look  so  vacant  and  death-like. 
Once  in  a  while  a  neighbor  would  pass  from  one 
house  to  another,  and  in  the  clenched  hands  and 
teeth  and  passion-dark  faces  there  were  signs  of 
a  spirit  which  unjust  sentences  could  not  allay.  For 
an  hour  or  two  anxious,  peering  faces  and  tearful 
eyes  were  thrust  out  watching  in  the  direction  of  the 
jail. 

About  four  o'clock,  as  the  shades  of  evening  were 
beginning  to  fall,  about  twenty  men  passed  through 
the  principal  street  in  the  direction  of  Bryan  Demp- 
sey's  home.  They  kept  as  much  as  possible  the 
military  step  and  walked  two  deep  in  solemn 
silence.  The  four  foremost  bore  on  their  shoulders 


296        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

a  bier,  on  which  was  a  handsome  coffin  of  black 
velvet,  with  a  silver  cross  and  silver  handles.  This 
was  provided  by  Mr.  De  Courcy.  In  it  were  laid 
the  mortal  remains  of  poor  Bryan  Dempsey.  Loud 
were  the  wailings  and  deep  the  anguish  when  the 
mournful  cavalcade  reached  the  cottage.  When  it 
was  set  down  and  the  lid  raised,  Winnie  was  brought 
by  her  father  to  look  upon  the  body  of  her  young 
husband.  They  first  all  knelt  down  and  joined  in 
prayer  for  the  repose  of  his  soul,  and  s  rength  for 
the  bereaved  widow.  She  then  approached,  shud 
dering  ;  but,  to  the  astonishment  of  fill  present,  her 
countenance  brightened  as  she  gazed  upon  him.  He 
was  dressed  in  the  brown  habit  of  the  scapular,  and 
on  his  breast,  in  letters  formed  of  white  satin  ribbon, 
were  the  initials,  I.  H.  S.  His  hands  were  clasped 
together,  as  if  in  prayer,  and  held  a  small  wreath 
of  palm-leaves— thj  emblem  of  martyrdom.  The 
hair  was  brushed  back  off  his  forehead,  which  was 
white  as  alabaster,  and  the  handsome,  manly  fea 
tures  were  ca  m  an  i  tV.ir  as  marble.  Not  a  feature 
was  distorted — a  smile  even  seemed  to  linger  on  the 
lips.  Winnie  gazed  long  in  mute  admiration.  She 
thought  she  had  never  seen  anything  so  beautiful 
At  length,  in  a  low  voice,  she  said  :  "  Father,  who 
did  all  this  for  him?" 


TUB  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        297 

*'  Two  ladies,  asthore — Mrs.  De  Courcy,  and  Miss 
Clara  Menville,  the  young  lady  that  you  mind  was 
so  kind  to  Norah  Cormac.  May  God  bless  them 
both  for  it !  " 

The  young  widow  looked  in  her  father's  face  and 
then  at  her  dead  husband  two  or  three  times ;  then, 
uttering  a  wild  cry,  she  burst  into  tears.  They  were 
the  first  she  had  wept  since  Bryan's  arrest.  The 
pent-up  fountains  seemed  closed  to  all  her  sorrows ; 
but  this  touching  tribute  to  his  innocence  and 
worth  broke  the  spell,  and  tears  like  the  rain  fell 
upon  the  lifeless  remains  of  him  she  loved  so  well 
— blessed  tears,  which  relieved  her  overcharged  heart 
of  its  burden  of  woe,  and  rejoiced  her  parents  to 
see. 


296        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

a  bier,  on  which  was  a  handsome  coffin  of  black 
velvet,  with  a  silver  cross  and  silver  handles.  This 
was  provided  by  Mr.  De  Courcy.  In  it  were  laid 
the  mortal  remains  of  poor  Bryan  Dempsey.  Loud 
were  the  wailings  and  deep  the  anguish  when  the 
mournful  cavalcade  reached  the  cottage.  When  it 
was  set  down  and  the  lid  raised,  Winnie  was  brought 
by  her  father  to  look  upon  the  body  of  her  young 
husband.  They  first  all  knelt  down  and  joined  in 
prayer  for  the  repose  of  his  soul,  and  s  rength  for 
the  bereaved  widow.  She  then  approached,  shud 
dering  ;  but,  to  the  astonishment  of  ;ill  present,  her 
countenance  brightened  as  she  gazed  upon  him.  He 
was  dressed  in  the  brown  habit  of  the  scapular,  and 
on  his  breast,  in  letters  formed  of  white  satin  ribbon, 
were  the  initials,  1.  H.  S.  His  hands  were  clasped 
together,  as  if  in  prayer,  and  held  a  small  wreath 
of  palm-leaves— thj  tmblem  of  martyrdom.  The 
hair  was  brushed  back  off  his  forehead,  which  was 
white  as  alabaster,  and  the  handsome,  manly  fea 
tures  were  ca  m  an  i  fair  as  marble.  Not  a  feature 
was  distorted — a  smile  even  seemed  to  linger  on  the 
lips.  Winnie  gazed  long  in  mute  admiration.  She 
thought  she  had  never  seen  anything  so  beautiful 
At  length,  in  a  low  voice,  she  said  :  "  Father,  who 
did  all  this  for  him?" 


TUB  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.         297 

*'  Two  ladies,  asthore — Mrs.  De  Courcy,  and  Miss 
Clara  Menville,  the  young  lady  that  you  mind  was 
so  kind  to  Norah  Cormac.  May  God  bless  them 
both  for  it !  " 

The  young  widow  looked  in  her  father's  face  and 
then  at  her  dead  husband  two  or  three  times ;  then, 
uttering  a  wild  cry,  she  burst  into  tears.  They  were 
the  first  she  had  wept  since  Bryan's  arrest.  The 
pent-up  fountains  seemed  closed  to  all  her  sorrows  ; 
but  this  touching  tribute  to  his  innocence  and 
worth  broke  the  spell,  and  tears  like  the  rain  fell 
upon  the  lifeless  remains  of  him  she  loved  so  well 
— blessed  tears,  which  relieved  her  overcharged  heart 
of  its  burden  of  woe,  and  rejoiced  her  parents  to 
see. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

CLARA  MENVILLE  had  received  an  account  from 
the  superioress  of  the  convent  of  the  progress  of 
the  trial.  She  besought  Clara  to  write,  and  try  to 
influence  her  uncle  in  causing  the  liberation  of  this 
just  man,  that  his  blood  might  not  be  at  his  door. 
Poor  Clara  was  in  anguish  of  mind.  She  knew  a 
letter  would  be  unavailing ;  but  if  she  could  only 
reach  Glengoulah  she  would  throw  herself  on  her 
knees  and  kiss  his  feet,  and  wash  them  with  her 
tears — but,  oh  !  how  was  she  to  reach  Ireland  ?  Her 
father  was  spending  the  winter  in  Rome,  and  she 
and  her  sister  were  staying  at  Toppleton  Hall,  Che 
shire,  the  seat  of  Viscount  Toppleton,  a  nephew  of 
her  father,  whose  lady,  though  an  excellent  woman 
in  her  way,  was  a  rigid  upholder  of  all  the  pro 
prieties  observed  by  ladies  of  rank.  Clara,  though 
perfectly  aware  of  her  weak  points,  undauntedly 
flew  to  her  and  passionately  begged  permission  to 
leave  by  that  evening's  steamer  for  Ireland.  She 
rapidly  portrayed  the  heart-rending  scenes  now  pass 
ing  in  Wicklow,  and  urged  the  impossibility  of  de- 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        299 


laying  one  night  without  losing  her  reason.  Lady 
Toppleton  was  utterly  horror-stricken,  at  such  a 
breach  of  etiquette,  reminding  her  how  his  lordship 
was  absent  in  Parliament,  and  no  one  there  who 
could  with  propriety  accompany  her.  She  would 
have  read  her  a  homily  on  the  importance  of  ladies 
of  rank  being  always  calm  and  unmoved,  especially 
by  the  occurrences  of  common  life ;  but  Clara, 
whose  thoughts  were  far  away,  abruptly  asked  if 
she  could  not  travel  with  her  nurse — a  respectable, 
middle-aged  matron,  whom  she  devotedly  loved, 
and  who  always  had  remained  with  her  since  the 
death  of  her  mother.  Lady  Toppleton,  struck  dumb 
with  amazement,  stared  at  her  as  though  she  feared 
the  contingency  hinted  at  had  already  taken  place, 
and  that  her  senses  were  clean  gone.  She  arose  and 
rang  the  bell,  ordering  her  carriage  immediately. 

"  Miss  Clara  Menville,  go  to  your  room  !"  said 
she,  with  haughty  dignity.  "I  am  going  to  the  par- 
Bomige  to  consult  with  Mr.  Audley  on  this  affair, 
and  shall  in  all  probability  impart  the  result  on  rny 
return." 

Probably  not,  Lady  Toppleton :  nous  verrons ! 
When  the  carriage  was  out  of  sight  Clara  rang  for 
her  nurse,  and  telling  her  it  was  a  matter  of  life  and 
death  for  her  to  leave  Toppleton  Hall  and  reach  the 


300        THE  BYENES  OF  GLENQOULAH. 

Liverpool  railway  station  within  half  an  hour,  she 
hastily  got  packed  a  few  changes  of  clothing,  ordered 
her  pony  phaeton  to  the  door,  into  which  she  jumped 
with  her  nurse,  driving  herself,  as  was  her  custom, 
witli  her  "  tiger"  behind.  As  Lady  Toppleton  drove 
up  the  avenue  from  the  parsonage  she  met  the  boy 
bringing  home  the  phaeton,  and  learned  from  him, 
to  her  unspeakable  horror,  that  Miss  Clara  and  Mrs. 
Bunse  were  on  the  road  to  Liverpool. 

The  impulsive  Clara  thought  the  train  was  going 
at  an  unusually  slow  pace,  while  the  truth  was  it  was 
flying  at  the  rate  of  forty  miles  an  hour,  and  was  in 
agonies  when  it  stopped  in  a  town  or  village.  She 
could  neither  eat  nor  sleep.  Intent  only  upon  one 
thought — the  saving  of  a  fellow-creature's  life — she 
threw  to  the  winds  the  cold  barriers  .of  etiquette 
and  position.  Arriving  in  Dublin  late  at  night,  she 
flew  post-hasto  to  Glengoulah  Castle.  Day  was  just 
breaking  on  the  morning  of  February  13th  as  she 
ascended  the  castle  steps.  Here  she  met  a  bitter  dis 
appointment  :  her  uncle,  they  told  her,  left  the  castle 
the  night  the  sentence  was  passed  on  Bryan  Demp- 
sey,  and  was  staying  at  the  Club  House,  Sackville 
street,  Dublin,  and  the  execution  was  to  take  place 
at  noon  that  day.  Mrs.  Biggs  was  in  England. 
Poor  Clara  wept  most  passionately — she  saw  the 


TIIE   BYRNES    OF    GLENGOTJLAH.  301 

hopelessness  of  achieving  her  object  now.  Pacing 
the  floor  and  wringing  her  hands,  she  exclaimed 
wildly :  "  Too  late !  too  late !  My  God  !  must  he 
die?"  Throwing  her  arms  around  her  nurse,  she 
wept  bitterly  on  her  bosom.  Then,  starting  up,  a 
thought  seized  her — she  would  go  to  Mr.  De  Courcy, 
and  see  if  anything  could  be  done.  Requesting 
Mrs.  Bunse  to  await  her  at  the  castle,  she  ordered  a 
carriage  and  drove  to  Mr.  De  Courcy's.  That  ex 
cellent  gentleman  and  his  wife  received  their  unex 
pected  guest  with  a  thousand  welcomes.  They 
made  every  exertion  to  console  her,  but  Clara  wept 
long  and  sadly — all  her  hopes  were  dashed  to  earth 
—all  her  plans  frustrated  * 

Mr.  De  Courcy  told  her  the  utter  impossibility  of 
getting  a  reprieve,  even  had  she  arrived  in  time ; 
explained  to  her  how  the  real  murderer,  struck  with 
remorse,  had  declared  himself  the  guilty  party,  and 
was  willing  now  to  die  in  expiation  of  his  crime,  and 
to  save  this  innocent  man  ;  how  Father  Esmond  had 
gone  to  Dublin  Castle  and  pleaded  for  the  prisoner 
in  the  most  moving  eloquence  before  the  viceroy 
himself1 — but  all  in  vain  !  Her  uncle  had  sworn 
point-blank  that  Dempsey  was  the  man — he  could 
not  be  mistaken — so  Dempsey  must  die!  Clara's 
tears  again  flowed  bitterly.  u  Can  I  do  nothing  ?" 


302         THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

she  cried  ;  "  have  I  fled  from  my  home  like  a  crim 
inal,  to  be  of  no  use  to  any  one  ? " 

"  No,  my  dear  young  lady,"  said  Mrs.  De  Courcy ; 
"you  were  not  permitted  by  the  Almighty  to  take 
a  useless  voyage.  I  doubt  not  you  are  destined  to 
play  a  most  useful  part  in  this  sad  drama.  If  you 
cannot  save  the  condemned,  you  can  console  his 
young  widow  and  bring  comfort  to  his  orphan  little 
ones.  We  can  all  take  our  share  in  such  acts  as 
these." 

"  Oh,  yes ;  thank  God !  "  said  Clara,  springing  up. 
"  I  thank  you  heartily  for  the  suggestion.  Let  us  go 
and  be  doing  at  once,  for  I  feel  that  my  heart  will 
burst  if  I  cannot  do  something  for  this  poor  victim. 
Oh,  uncle  !  uncle  !  God  pardon  you  ! " 

Mr.  De  Courcy  insisted  upon  her  taking  breakfast 
before  leaving  the  house;  so  having  swallowed  a 
cup  of  tea  both  ladies  drove  to  the  Convent  of  Ard- 
more  first.  Clara,  on  account  of  her  connection 
with  Bishop  Biggs,  felt  a  delicacy  in  intruding  her 
self  upon  Dempsey's  family,  and  wished  to  be  di 
rected  by  the  superioress  how  to  act.  The  reverend 
mother  was  overjoyed  to  see  her. 

"  Well,  ladies,"  said  she,  when  all  were  seated, 
"  if  ever  an  earnest  prayer  to  God  was  quickly  re 
sponded  to,  surely  mine  was  this  morning.  I  am  in 


THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        303 

such  trouble  for  my  poor  child  Winnie,  whom  we 
educated  here,  that  I  have  been  trying  to  think  of 
every  plan  to  console  her.  Her  mother  was  here 
yesterday  to  ask  the  prayers  of  the  community  for 
her  ;  she  has  not  shed  a  tear  since  her  husband  was 
arrested,  and  has  had  frequent  fainting  fits.  I  have 
great  fears  for  her  if  his  body  is  brought  home  to  her 
distigured,  as  I  hear  is  common  after  strangulation  ; 
and  I  was  just  thinking  of  getting  some  charitable 
woman  to  arrange  his  features  after  death,  and  to 
dress  his  body  in  the  habit  of  Our  Blessed  Lady. 
Now  the  difficulty  is  to  get  permission  to  do  this 
from  the  authorities.  I  can  get  plenty  of  pious 
Christians  to  perform  the  task,  but  they  are  poor, 
and  consequently  would  not  be  heeded.  I  then  ap 
pealed  to  St.  Joseph,  earnestly  begging  through  his 
intercession  that  I  might  be  directed  to  some  influ 
ential  person  who  would  procure  this  favor  for  my 
employes.  I  was  coming  out  of  the  chapel  after 
making  my  petition  for  the  sixth  or  seventh  time 
when  the  door-bell  rang,  and  the  moment  I  saw  you 
both  I  knew  my  prayer  was  heard.  God  be  praised 
for  all  His  mercies !" 

"  Most  certainly,  reverend  mother,"  replied  Mrs. 
De  Courcy.  "  We  can,  no  doubt,  easily  obtain 
your  request.  Mr.  De  Courcy  has  already  ordered 


304        THE  BYKHES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

a  handsome  coffin  to  be  sent  for  him  through  tho 
same  motive." 

"  Oh,  Heaven  reward  him  ;  it  is  just  like  him." 

"  Reverend  mother,"  said  Clara,  in  a  low  voice, 
"have  you  yet  appointed  the  persons  to  do  this 
work?" 

"  No,  Miss  Menville ;  but  I  know  two  respectable 
women  who,  I  am  sure,  will  do  it  for  the  love  of 
God." 

Clara  grasped  her  hand.  "  Oh,  dear  mother ! 
please  permit  me  to  be  one  of  the  persons  and  you 
will  confer  a  favor  on  me." 

Mother  Joseph  started.  "  You?  dear  child!  Oh, 
no,  no  ;  that  would  be  too  much  to  expect." 

"  Ah !  Mother  Joseph !  you  do  not  deem  me 
worthy  ? " 

The  superioress  could  not  speak ;  tears  streamed 
down  her  cheeks ;  she  clasped  the  youthful  heroine 
of  charity  in  her  arms. 

"  Oh,  my  precious  child  !  how  rich  in  God's  grace ! 
But  it  would  be  too  frightful  a  task  for  .one  so 
young." 

"  No,  no,  mother ;  please  do  not  refuse  me.  I 
came  a  long  journey  to  save  the  life  of  this  martyr ; 
but  as  I  have  been  unable  to  effect  my  object,  do 
not  refuse  me  this  great  favor.  Mother,  if  you  do 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        305 

not  think   me  wholly  unworthy,  reject  me  not,  I 
beseech  you." 

"  My  dear  young  lady,  who  could  resist  charity 
like  yours  ?  I  shall  send  a  very  pious  and  respecta 
ble  woman  to  assist  you." 

Mrs.  De  Courcy  was  struck  dumb  with  astonish 
ment — admiration  succeeded  ;  and  as  the  high  born 
Clara  proceeded  to  beg  as  a  favor  a  task  from  which 
human  nature  recoiled,  she  sobbed  audibly.  She 
had  never  seen  charity  like  this  before.  "  My  God !  " 
she  cried  to  herself,  "  if  this  be  Catholicism,  give  me 
light  to  direct  me,  that  I  and  all  who  are  dear  to 
me  may  embrace  it."  An  impulse  of  God's  holy 
love  immediately  filled  her  soul  with  a  feeling  en 
tirely  new.  The  world  seemed  naught  to  her,  and 
she  felt  an  unaccountable  strength  vibrate  through 
every  nerve.  Something  seemed  to  say  for  her  (as 
she  declares  to  this  day  she  never  could  say  it  her 
self)  :  "  Mother,  I  will  be  that  assistant ;  I  will  not 
be  outdone  in  generosity  by  this  noble  young  lady, 
who  sets  me  such  an  heroic  example  !  " 

It  was  long  before  the  tender  heart  of  Mother  Jo« 
seph  could  reply,  so  entirely  was  she  overcome  by 
her  feelings. 

"  Oh,  wondrous  love  of  God  1 "  she  at  length  ex 
claimed  j  u  what  are  you  not  able  to  eifect !  "  Turn- 


306         THE  BYBNES  OF  GLENGOCLAH. 

ing  her  tearful  eyes  on  Mrs.  De  Courcy,  she  said : 
"  It  shall  be  as  you  say,  dear  lady  ;  I  would  not  for 
worlds  deprive  you  of  the  merit  of  such  an  action. 
Sure  I  am,  Mrs.  De  Courcy,  our  Blessed  Lord  will 
bestow  011  you  also  the  greatest  gift  in  the  treasury 
of  Heaven.'*  She  brought  down  the  brown  habit 
of  Our  Lady  of  Mount  Carmel,  and  explained  its 
meaning  to  Mrs.  De  Courcy,  who  had  never,  seen 
one  before.  Miss  Menville  was  familiar  with  them 
already,  but  begged  permission  to  make  a  wreath 
of  palm-leaves  from  the  garden.  They  drove  to  the 
prison,  and  had  an  interview  at  the  governor's  house 
with  the  high  sheriff.  Mrs.  De  Courcy  introduced 
Miss  Menville,  niece  of  Lord  Biggs.  The  sheriff 
bowed  profoundly ;  and  when  Clara  made  her  re 
quest  he  immediately  assented,  and  directed  the 
governor  to  send  word  to  the  ladies  the  moment  the 
prisoner's  body  was  cut  down,  and  to  have  it  con 
veyed  to  a  room  in  his  own  house,  and  everything 
prepared  for  their  reception.  The  intermediate 
time  was  spent  by  Clara  in  the  chapel  of  the 
convent  praying  for  the  soul  of  him  who  was 
about  to  appear  before  his  Eternal  Judge,  and  beg 
ging  mercy  and  conversion  for  her  unfortunate 
uncle. 

The  governor  came  himself  to  announce  that  the 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.         307 

execution  was  over.  Poor  Mrs.  De  Courcy's  heart 
sank  within  her,  and  she  turned  deadly  pale. 

"  Kneel  a  moment  with  me,"  said  Clara. 

She  knelt  and  repeated  with  her  three  Hail  Marys, 
"  in  honor  of  the  tears  our  Blessed  Mother  shed  when 
the  adorable  body  of  her  Divine  Son  was  placed  in 
her  arms,  that  she  would  procure  strength  for  them 
to  accomplish  the  task  they  had  undertaken." 

They  arose  much  strengthened  and  drove  rapidly 
to  the  prison.  Clara  knelt  beside  the  body  of  poor 
Bryan  Dempsey,  which  was  laid  upon  the  floor. 
She  closed  his  eyes  and  arranged  his  features,  while 
Mrs.  De  Courcy  combed  back  his  dark  chestnut 
hair,  and  was  surprised  how  little  horror  she  ex 
perienced  in  performing  offices  she  once  imagined 
she  never  could  fill.  Poor  Bryan  had  carefully 
washed  and  shaved  himself  that  morning,  preparing 
for  the  reception  of  the  Most  Holy  Sacrament,  and 
their  task  was  thus  rendered  easy.  The  governor's 
wife  sent  her  servants  to  assist  the  ladies,  but  they 
would  suffer  no  one  to  touch  the  body  only  them 
selves  until  the  coffin  came,  when  they  accepted  the 
services  of  the  undertaker's  men  to  put  it  in  its  last 
receptacle.  When  this  was  accomplished,  they  re 
mained  to  keep  watch  beside  the  body  until  Toney 
Byrne,  his  sons,  son-in-law,  and  a  few  neighbors  came 


303  THE    BYRNKS    OF    GLENG:  >ULAtt. 

to  convey  it  home.  Toney  WHS  quite  surprised  to 
see  Mrs.  De  Courcy  in  such  a  place.  She  drew  him 
aside  and  told  him  who  the  beautiful  young  lady  was 
standing  beside  the  coffin,  and  detailed  the  part  she 
had  acted,  and  its  motive,  carefully  remaining  silent 
on  her  own  share  in  the  transaction.  She  then 
brought  him  to  look  at  Bryan's  body.  Toney  Byrne 
could  not  ntter  a  word  ;  but  kneeling  in  the  midst 
of  friends  he  prayed  silently,  while  great  drops 
poured  down  his  cheeks.  Clara,  immediatelj*  divin 
ing  who  he  was,  drew  back  with  instinctive  delicacy 
until  he  had  concluded.  She  then  approached,  and 
taking  his  hand  said,  "  Are  you  not  Mr.  Byrne  ?  " 

"  Yes,  miss.  May  God's  blessing  light  upon  you. 
I'll  never  forget  till  my  dying  hour  what  you  have 
done  this  day." 

"  My  good  friend,  I  was  not  alone ;  to  Mrs.  De 
Courcy  you  are  more  indebted  than  to  me." 

Toney  raised  his  eyes  to  Heaven  ;  and  again  the 
great  tears  rolled,  but  he  could  not  speak.  His 
friends  now  lifted  the  coffin,  and  the  mournful  caval 
cade  moved  on. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

EKYAN  DEMPSEY'S  body  was  waked  from  Friday 
evening  until  Sunday.  Father  O'Tool  went  there 
two  or  three  times  each  day,  and  members  of  the 
Purgatorian  and  other  religious  societies  kept  re 
lieving  each  other  at  stated  intervals  of  the  day  and 
night,  saying  rosaries  and  litanies  for  his  soul.  None 
others  were  admitted  excepting  his  immediate  rela 
tives  and  old  neighbors. 

On  Sunday  the  funeral  took  place  at  three  o'clock 
p.  M.  to  the  chapel  yard  of  Tinmanogue,  where 
all  his  kindred  slept.  The  procession  was  immense, 
and  was  attended  by  many  gentlemen  of  rank,  who 
wished  to  mark  their  disapprobation  of  this  legalized 
murder.  The  tolling  of  the  old  bell  and  the  meas 
ured  tread  of  the  silent  multitude  recalled  to  many 
the  beautiful  lines  of  Davis  : 

"  Why  rings  the  knell  of  the  funeral  bell 
From  a  hundred  village  shrine?, 
Thro'  broad  Fingal  where  hasten  all 
These  long  and  ordered  lines  1 
With  tear  and  sigh  they're  passing  by, 
The  matron  and  the  maid- 
Has  a  hero  died— is  a  nation's  pride 
In  that  cold  coffin  laid  f 


310        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGODLAH. 

With  frown  and  curse  behind  the  hearse, 

Dark  men  go  tramping  on — 

Has  a  tyrant  died  that  they  cannot  hide 

Their  wrath  till  the  rites  are  done  ? 

Ululee  !  Ululee  !  high  on  the  wind, 

There's  a  home  for  the  slave  where  no  fetters  can  bind. 

Woe !  woe  1  to  his  elayers,— comes  wildly  along 

With  the  tramping  of  feet  and  the  funeral  song. 

And  now  more  clear 

It  swells'  on  the  ear, 

Breathe  low  and  listen— 'tis  solemn  to  hear; 
Ululee  !  Ululee !  wail  for  the  dead. 
Green  grow  the  grass  of  Fiugal  on  hip  head, 
And  spring  flowers  blossom  ere  elsewhere  appearing ; 
And  shamrocks  grow  thick  on  the  martyr  for  Erin. 
Ululee !  Ululee  !  soft  fall  the  dew 
On  the  feet  and  the  head  of  the  martyred  and  true." 

Winnie  returned  home  to  her  now  desolate  cot 
tage,  where  the  light  of  her  life  had  been  forever 
quenched ;  but  the  fountain  of  her  heart's  grief 
flowed  freely,  and  a  soft  and  tender  sorrow  now 
reigned  where  a  wild  and  burning  agony  so  long 
dwelt.  She  and  her  family  blessed  God  for  the 
change.  Soon,  too,  she  was  called  on  to  minister  to 
the  wants  of  those  she  was  bound  to  by  the  strongest 
ties  of  gratitude.  It  was  the  intention  of  Mrs.  De 
Courcy  and  Miss  Menville  to  visit  Winnie  before  the 
interment  of  Bryan,  but  on  reaching  Cascade  House 
that  evening  from  the  jail  poor  Clara  was  seized 
with  a  violent  fever,  and  by  midnight  was  delirious. 
The  terrible  excitement  she  had  undergone,  joined 
with  loss  of  rest  and  fatigue,  told  fearfully  on  her 
tender  frame.  Her  nurse  came  from  the  castle  to 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        311 

wait  upon  her,  but  Mrs.  De  Courcy  gave  strict  or 
ders  that  no  one  should  inform  Toney  Byrne  or  any 
of  his  family  of  Miss  Menville's  illness,  therefore 
they  remained  in  ignorance  of  the  sad  event  until 
the  day  after  Bryan's  funeral.  The  instant  Winnie 
heard  the  news  she  repaired  to  Cascade  House,  and 
kneeling  beside  the  unconscious  Clara  poured  forth 
tears  and  prayers  for  her  recovery.  She  would  wil 
lingly  have  taken  the  place  of  Mrs.  Bunse,  but  that 
bustling  lady  would  not  suffer  any  hands  to  tend  her 
darling  but  her  own.  "Winnie  or  either  of  her  pa 
rents  were  there  many  times  every  day,  and  soon  had 
the  pleasure  of  hearing  that  their  young  benefactress 
was  pronounced  out  of  danger. 

A  new  and  severer  trial  now  awaited  them.  Win 
nie,  on  her  return  from  Cascade  House  one  evening 

*  O 

during  the  week,  received  a  message  that  Father  Es 
mond  wished  to  see  her.  She  flew  to  her  dear  spir 
itual  father,  whom  she  found  propped  up  in  bed  with 
pillows,  and  breathing  more  freely  than  he  had  done 
for  years.  He  seemed  calm  and  collected. 

"  Oh  father,  honey !  "  cried  Winnie,  leaning  over 
beside  his  bed  ;  "  is  it  true  what  they  tell  me,  that 
you  are  better  ? " 

"  Yes,  my  child  ;  the  great  drag  is  gone  from  my 
chest,  and  I  feel  light  and  easy.  My  good  God  is 


314        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

unfortunate  landlord,  and  all  who  were  concerned 
in  the  legal  murder  of  your  husband  !  " 

Winnie  gazed  on  the  sinking  features  of  the  dying 
saint.  She  seemed  choking  for  a  moment,  and  then 
said  : 

"  Father,  I  would  willingly  do  it ;  but  how  could 
I  ask  such  a  prayer  with  my  lips  unless  my  heart 
went  with  it  ?  Oh !  father,  asthore !  I  cannot  tell  a 
lie.  I  don't  wish  them  harm ;  but  I  can't  bear  to 
think  of  them,  nor  to  mention  their  names.  Sure, 
God  who  sees  my  heart  would  not  hear  such  a 
prayer  !  Indeed,  father,  I  can't  help  it !" 

"  Then,  my  child,  you  must  earnestly  pray  tha 
God  may  remove  such  bad  feelings  from  your  heart. 
You  may  rest  assured  our  Blessed  Lady  will  obtain 
for  you  proper  feelings  of  charity  if  you  strive  to 
overcome  yourself  and  say  what  I  tell  you.  God 
does  not  expect  impossibilities.  He  knows  how 
sorely  your  poor  human  nature  has  been  tried  ;  and 
if  He  sees  you  trying  to  conquer  it,  He  will  shower 
upon  you  most  abundant  gifts  and  graces.  Winnie, 
I  asked  this  same  favor  of  your  p  >or  ;  ryan  before 
he  was  led  to  execution.  He  never  hesitated,  but 
went  on  his  knees  and  joined  most  fervently  with 
me.  I  asked  him  if  he  would  like  you  an  i  his  chil 
dren  to  pray  for  the  same  object,  and  he  said  he 


THE   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOTJLAH.  315 

would  very  much.  Your  good,  pious  father  has 
ever  set  you  this  example  of  Christian  charity ;  but, 
Winnie,  I  ask  it  not  for  the  love  of  father,  mother, 
or  of  your  old  pastor,  nor  even  to  comply  with  the 
last  wish  of  your  loving  husband  ;  no,  Winnie,  not 
for  any  or  all  of  these  must  you  do  this — you  must 
do  it  for  the  love  of  Him  for  whom  all  our  actions 
should  be  done — for  our  dear  Lord  Jesus,  who  prayed 
for  the  wicked  wretches  who  nailed  Him  to  a 
cross." 

Winnie  bowed  her  head  to  the  ground  and  sobbed 
convulsively  for  a  few  moments;  then  rising,  she 
said: 

"  Father,  I  will  faithfully  do  as  you  tell  me,  and 
teach  my  children  to  do  the  same,  with  God's  bless 
ing,  while  there's  life  in  my  body  or  speech  in  my 
tongue !" 

Father  Esmond  held  out  his  hand,  now  shaking 
with  the  death  tremor.  "  God  reward  you,  my  dear 
child.  I  can  now  die  in  peace.  May  the  blessing 
of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  descend  upon 
you  and  yours,  and  remain  with  you  forever." 

His  voice  grew  faint,  and  Winnie  called  in  Mrs. 
Malone,  who  administered  restoratives.  Reports  flew 
around  that  he  was  in  his  death  agony,  and  all  the 
neighbors  flocked  in.  Approaching  midnight  his 


316        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

agony  really  commenced.  Father  O'Tool  put  the 
blessed  candle  in  his  hand  and  held  it  there.  Sev 
eral  other  priests  from  the  neighboring  parishes 
were  present,  one  of  whom  recited  the  beautiful 
prayers  for  the  departing.  To  the  surprise  of  all 
he  joined  in  the  responses  himself.  When  the  prayers 
were  concluded  he  opened  his  eyes  and  looked 
around  the  apartment.  Seeing  so  many  of  his  pa 
rishioners  in  tears,  he  said  :  "  May  God  bless  you  all, 
my  faithful,  loving  children.  We  will  meet  again 
in  our  heavenly  kingdom.  '  Oh !  how  lovely  are 
thy  tabernacles,  O  Lord  of  Hosts !  My  soul  faint- 
eth  for  the  courts  of  the  Lord.' "  He  seemed  trans 
ported  in  an  ecstasy.  After  a  moment  or  two  he 
cried  out :  "  Jesus  !  Jesus  !  receive  my  soul."  and, 
turning  his  head  on  the  pillow,  calmly  expired.  Si 
lence  reigned  around  until  Father  O'Tool,  extin 
guishing  the  light,  sank  upon  his  knees,  and  ex 
claimed  :  "  Eternal  rest  grant  unto  him,  O  Lord  !" 
and  he  burst  into  tears.  Then  the  sobs  and  lamenta 
tions  of  the  bereaved  parishioners  were  mournful  to 
hear.  Ah !  those  were  sorrowful  days  in  Tinma- 
nogue.  A  funeral  pall  seemed  to  hang  over  the  beau 
tiful  village.  Every  shop  was  closed,  every  bell 
tolled — that  of  the  convent,  the  old  elm-tree  he  loved 
so  well,  the  school-house,  where  in  days  of  yore  he 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGODLAH.        317 

spent  so  many  hours  instructing  the  boys  now  grown 
to  manhood,  and  too  many,  alas !  eating  the  bread 
of  exile  in  a  foreign  land.  All  tolled  mournfully,- 
and  bore  the  sad  intelligence  through  the  echoing 
hills  around.  The  father,  friend,  counsellor,  con 
soler,  peace-maker,  and  pastor,  so  idolized  for  more 
than  half  a  century,  was  gone  from  them — just  when 
they  thought  they  needed  him  most,  and  could  least 
spare  him.  But  so  they  would  have  thought  any 
time  he  might  be  called. 

"  Sheep  without  a  shepherd, 
When  the  snow  shuts  out  the  sky." 

The  cruciform  chapel,  embowered  in  shrubs,  was 
crowded  night  and  day  until  he  was  laid  in  the 
tomb.  A  continuous  stream  of  people  passed  and 
re-passed  in  and  out,  with  tear-washed  cheeks  and 
sad  hearts.  They  were  taking  their  last  look  of  their 
beloved  father  as  he  lay  in  his  coffin,  dressed  in  his 
ecclesiastical  robes,  his  white  hair  floating  down  his 
shoulders,  and  his  saintly  features  smiling.  They 
waked  him  thus  before  the  altar  where  he  had  so  often 
celebrated  the  divine  mysteries,  and  where  his  fath 
erly  tones  and  venerable  appearance  so  many  times 
recalled  to  them  the  Apostles  of  old.  But  the 
family  that  mourned  him  most  was  Toney  Byrne's, 
for  they  felt  he  had  shortened  his  precious  life  by  the, 


318  THE   BfliXES    OF   GLENGOULAH. 

hardships  he  had  undergone,  first  by  trying  to  save 
the  life  of  Bryan  Dempsey,  and  then  in  consoling 
his  last  moments. 

He  was  buried  in  the  chapel-yard  among  his 
flock ;  and,  according  to  his  own  request,  no  fence 
was  put  up  between  him  and  his  loved  parishioners. 
His  grave  was  beside  the  chapel,  and  on  the  edge  of 
the  centre  walk,  that  all  might  find  him  accessible 
in  death,  as  he  always  was  in  life. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

ON  the  same  night,  and  at  the  same  hour  when 
the  venerable  pastor  of  Glengoulah  was  conducted 
by  angels  to  the  throne  of  the  Eternal  Father, 
whom  he  ever  strove  to  serve,  while  his  last  sighs 
were  embalmed  by  the  tears  and  prayers  of  his  lov 
ing  people,  quite  a  different  scene  was  enacting  iu 
Dublin. 

In  a  sumptuously  furnished  apartment  of  the 
Club  House,  Sackville  street,  a  man  lay  moaning 
on  a  bed  of  down.*  Four  stalwart-looking  men 
in  their  shirt-sleeves  watched  beside  him.  Their 
strength  was  frequently  put  to  the  test  to  keep  the 
wretched  sufferer  from  jumping  out  of  the  window, 
or  dashing  his  head  against  the  wall ;  they  were 
then  obliged  to  force  him  into  the  bed,  or  strap  him 
in  a  large  invalid  chair.  Sleep  had  been  long  a 
stranger  to  his  wild  and  frenzied  eyes,  and  at  times 
his  shrieks  were  appalling. 

"  I  tell  you  the  truth,  Jim,"  said  one  of  the  watch- 

*  IHs  a  well-established  fact  that  Sir  Francis  Hopkins  1va.s  obliged  to  be 
strapped  to  a  bed  (after  the  execution  of  Seery)  at  the  Club  House,  Sackville 
Btreet,  and  finally  died  a  lunatic  some  where  on  the  continent. 


320        THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

ers,  wiping  great  drops  of  perspiration  from  bis  fore 
head  with  a  blue  cotton  handkerchief;  "  if  tbey  bad 
a  paid  me  last  Saturday  you  wouldn't  see  me  bere 
to-nigbt.  The  pay  is  good,  to  be  sure  ;  but,  be  the 
great  King  William,  it's  earned  hard." 

"  Well,  I  wouldn't  care  a  pin's  point,"  joined  an 
other,  "  about  bis  leapin'  and  jumpin,'  if  he'd  only 
hould  his  tongue ;  but,  upon  me  life,  be  puts  the 
heart  across  in  me  when  he  does  be  jabberin'  to 
some  one  unseen  ! " 

"  Yes,  indeed.  And  between  ourselves,  George,  1 
think  the  divil  has  a  heavy  mortgage  on  his  soul ; 
and,  upon  my  conscience,  but  he'll  have  pleasant  com 
pany  when  this  ould  fella  goes  home  to  him." 

"  Well,  the  divil  sweep  the  whole  of  yees ;  but  yees 
got  to  be  mighty  fine  Christians  all  at  onst,"  chimed 
in  the  fourth — a  big,  rough  Orangeman.  "Aren' 
yees  worthy  follyers  of  King  William,  to  be  echoin' 
the  sentiments  of  the  Papish  broodl  What  if  he 
did  send  some  of  them  on  an  arrand  to  the  divil  a 
little  before  their  time  ?  Its  good  enough  for  the 
likes  of  them  !  " 

"  Hould  your  tongue,  Alick  !  and  don't  be  makin' 
a  jackass  of  yourself.  I  can  drink  the  glorious  and 
immortal  memory  as  well  as  any  of  yees,  and  shout 
'  To  hell  with  the  Pope ! '  till  my  lungs  are  hoarse,  on 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        321 

the  12th  of  July  ;  but,  when  all  is  said  and  done,  I 
can't  feel  any  spite  to  my  Papist  neighbors — and 
sure  I'd  have  a  bad  right — for  I  don't  forget,  Masther 
Alick,  how  fast  you  ran  from  my  bedside  the  night 
the  doctor  said  I  had  the  cholera — nor  all  as  one 
Tom  Hanlon,  my  dour-neighbor,  if  he  is  a  Papist. 
I'll  never  forget  it  to  him.  When  he  heard  my  wife 
cryin'he  come  in  and  rubbed  and  stuped  me  till  the 
sweat  run  down  his  face — savin'  favor — and  he  staid 
there  wid  me  the  whole  night,  till  the  danger  was 
passed  and  it  was  clear  daylight ;  and  then  he  worked 
all  day  long  at  his  trade.  He's  a  stone-mason,  and 
one  of  the  best  livin'  men  I  ever  seen." 

"  I  suppose  there's  some  good  ones  among  them 
like  ourselves,  Joe ;  "  and  George  nodded  in  the  di 
rection  of  Alick,  while  he  chuckled  to  himself. 

"Hould  your  divils  of  tongues;  here's  the  doc 
tors  ! "  cried  Alick. 

Two  gentlemanly-looking  men  came  into  the  room 
quietly. 

"  Well,  my  men,  how  is  our  noble  patient  this 
evening  ? " 

"  Couldn't  be  worse,  sir.     He's  after  exhausting 

himself  talkin'  and  screechin'.     He  thinks  he  sees  a 

man  followin'  him  constantly.     We  had  to  take  down 

all  the  pictures  and  mirrors;  he  a'most  went  into 

14* 


322        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLEXGOULAH. 

fits  at  sight  of  them.  One  time,  when  we  were 
makin'  the  bed,  he  caught  sight  of  himself  in  the 
lookin'-glass  and  run  under  the  bed,  where  he 
squeezed  himself  flat  like  a  pancake.  Be  the  Boyne, 
but  it's  hard  work,  your  honors,  to  attind  him.  My 
self  wouldn't  take  tin  pounds  a  night  if  I  knew  what 
was  afore  me ;  but  I  wouldn't  break  my  engagement, 
onst  I  made  it,  for  five  hundred  pounds." 

Joe  and  George  made  a  face  at  one  another  at  the 
back  of  the  physicians  when  they  heard  Alick's  hon 
orable  account  of  himself.  One  of  the  doctors  held 
his  pulse  until  two  other  physicians  entered  ;  then 
all  went  into  consultation.  The  consequence  was  he 
was  strapped  to  the  bed,  his  head  shaved,  and  a  large 
blister  applied  to  the  poll,  while  bags  of  ice  were 
kept  to  his  temples.  The  doctors  remained  all  night, 
relieving  one  another  at  stated  intervals.  By  morn 
ing  he  seemed  calm.  About  eight  o'clock  A.  M.  the 
.Kingstown  train  brought  his  lady  and  suite,  who  ar 
rived  by  the  mail  boat  from  London.  The  physi 
cians,  after  consultation,  deemed  it  best  to  bring  her 
to  him  unannounced.  She  walked  with  a  languid 

o 

air  to  the  bedside,  and  began  to  weep  in  an  embroid 
ered  handkerchief.  He  fixed  his  eyes  wildly  upon 
her,  and  convulsive  tremors  shook  his  frame.  He 
said,  in  a  hissing  whisper,  "  Are  you  his  widow  ? " 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        323 

The  lady  renewed  her  tears. 

"  I  tell  you  I  can  do  nothing  for  you.  I  tried  to 
save  him  since  I  came  here,  but  they  kept  me 
strapped  down.  I  told  the  judge  the  day  before  I 
left  the  castle  not  to  hang  him,  but  he  said  it  was  too 
late.  Curse  the  old  fool  for  being  always  too  late. 
Curse  you  too,  and  the  whole  Papist  crew;  and 

curse  myself.  G —  d you  !  don't  you  hear  me 

cursing  myself;  and  why  do  you  cry?  I  can't  give 
him  back  to  you  if  you  were  to  cry  till  doomsday.  I 
know  he's  dead.  I  saw  him  hanging  there — on  that 
wall.  He  leered  at  me  and  grinned  as  he  was  going 
off  the  drop." 

"  Oh,  dear  husband  !  do  not  speak  so  horribly !" 
said  the  weeping  lady. 

"  I  tell  you,  woman  !  your  husband  did  grin  at 
me ;  he  did  !  And  oh,  God  !  how  frightful  he  looked  ! 
I  see  him  again  !  There  he  is !  He  is  always  leer 
ing  and  mocking  me  !  " 

The  lady  turned  to  leave  the  room.  He  shouted 
after  her:  "Come  here,  you  woman!  I  want  to 
make  a  bargain  with  you.  I'll  give  you  your  choice 
of  the  best  farm  in  Glengoulah  if  you  will  keep 
him  from  following  me  ! " 

The  lady  now  thought  she  would  try  to  soothe 
him.  "  Oh,  my  dear !  you  are  laboring  under  a 


324        THK  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

delusion.  There  is  no  one  trying  to  follow  JTOU. 
No  one  can  follow  you." 

He  made  violent  efforts  to  disengage  himself 
from  his  bands,  and  failing  he  glared  upon  her  and 
shrieked  out : 

"  Do  you  dare  tell  me  I  lie  ?  You  are  a  cursed 
fool,  you  low,  contemptible  creature,  to  doubt  the 
word  of  a  bishop.  I  tell  you  a  huntsman  with  a 
yelping  pack  after  his  heels  is  not  more  surrounded 
than  I  am.  My  life  has  been  most  miserable  for 
more  than  a  year.  I  had  wealth  and  honors,  but  no 
happiness.  I  drank  to  drown  my  miseries,  but  it 
would  not  do — it  was  then  I  suffered  most.  A 
curse,  I  say  again,  upon  my  obstinate  tenantry. 
They  wouldn't  hear  the  true  gospel  from  me  ;  but 
would  believe  their  d— d  old  priests.  I  swore  to 
make  them  Protestants,  or  to  have  my  revenge,  and 
I  had  it !  Ha,  ha,  ha !  I'm  glad  I  made  them  suffer ! 
I  had  my  revenge !  But,  G — d  d — n  them  !  they 
have  theirs  now.  Sometimes  they  all  come  together, 
and  set  me  nearly  crazy  with  their  abuse ;  some 
times  they  come  alone,  but  in  such  rapid  succession 
that  they  bewilder  me.  Last  night  that  old  villain 
Flannigan  wras  here  abusing  me  for  pulling  down 
his  house  ;  he  accused  me  of  leaving  him  homeless 
and  childless,  because  his  children  were  drowned  at 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        325 

sea  on  their  way  to  America.  Then  Fogarty  walked 
in  to  curse  me,  because  his  old  mother  died  a  luna 
tic,  because  she  lost  the  farm,  and  was  starving. 
Then  in  came  thirty-seven  that  were  evicted  from 
the  townland  of  Drismore  shortly  before  Christmas, 
each  telling  a  dismal  tale  of  suffering,  enough  to 
drive  any  one  mad  but  myself.  Then  the  widow 
Ryan  came  in  and  abused  me  because  the  bailiffs 
carried  out  her  two  children  in  the  rain,  and  both 
sick  in  scarlet  fever,  and  they  died  next  day  (she 
says).  I  verily  believe  they  died  just  to  spite  me — 
these  papists  are  very  vindictive.  Then  in  came  the 
widow  Cormac,  and  blew  a  perfect  hurricane  from 
her  nostrils.  I  felt  the  bed  rock  under  me,  and 
everything  was  blown  about;  the  snow  began  to 
fall,  and  she  pointed  to  a  heap  of  it  that  had  drifted 
into  a  pile,  and  there  that  wild  maniac  daughter  of 
hers  lay  dead.  They  never  let  me  get  a  wink  of 
sleep,  but  stand  leering  and  grinning  at  me  when 
they  are  tired  abusing.  I  do  not  heed  them,  how 
ever.  I  crouch  down  and  keep  very  still  until  they 
are  gone.  Then  I  try  to  get  away,  and  scream  out 
for  help,  but  no  one  cares  to  save  me.  I  could  bear 
any  of  them — yes,  all  of  them  together — better  than 
this  Bryan  Dempsey.  I  know  you  are  his  widow, 
and  I  feel  really  sorry  for  you  ;  but  1  can  do  nothing 


326         THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOPLAH. 

for  you  while  he  follows  me,  and  keeps  pointing  tc 
his  throat  and  grinning  so  terribly.  Mind  I  prom 
ise  you,  on  my  word  of  honor  as  a  gentleman  and  a 
Christian  bishop,  if  3^011  will  keep  your  husband 
away  I  will  give  you  a  beautiful  farm,  and  never 
molest  your  children  in  their  religion.  Will  you  do 
this  for  me?  Papists  profess  to  be  charitable  and 
forgiving — I  will  see  now." 

The  doctors  whispered  her  to  agree  at  once.  "  Of 
course  I  will  do  it  for  you,"  said  the  unhappy  lady. 
And,  hoping  to  humor  him,  she  asked :  "  What  would 
you  think  of  taking  a  trip  to  England,  my  lord  ? 
They  say  spirits  cannot  cross  water,  so  they  cannot 
follow  you  over  sea." 

"  I  should  like  it  very  much,  indeed  ;  but  you  must 
accompany  me,  or  your  husband  will  not  stay  away." 

"  Oh,  certainly ;  I  shall  go  with  you  everywhere." 

This  assurance  seemed  to  calm  him,  and  he  waa 
permitted  to  sit  in  his  easy-chair;  but  he  would  by 
no  means  suffer  her  to  leave  the  room  a  moment. 
He  evidently  took  her  to  be  poor  Winnie  Dempsey, 
and  imagined  he  was  freed  from  the  ghastly  vision  of 
Bryan's  death  while  she  was  present.  In  about  a 
week  the  doctors  pronounced  him  fit  to  travel,  and 
they  left  for  London. 

As  Miss  Menville  was  lying  in  fever  at  the  resi- 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        327 

dence  of  Mr.  De  Courcy  while  these  scenes  were 
transpiring,  she  was  not  aware  of  the  arrival  of  her 
aunt  in  Ireland.  Mrs.  Biggs,  however,  was  duly 
waited  upon  by  the  housekeeper  of  Glengoulah  Cas 
tle,  and,  learning  that  her  niece  was  a  guest  at  Cas 
cade  House,  deemed  it  beneath  her  dignity  to  pretend 
being  aware  of  that  circumstance ;  she  therefore 
sent  her  no  message,  and  left  before  she  had  recov 
ered. 

When  Lord  Biggs  and  suite  arrived  in  England 
they  resided  for  a  time  in  a  fine  mansion  outside 
Greenwich,  removed  from  all  company  or  any  ex 
citement.  The  grounds  were  extensive  and  taste 
fully  laid  out,  the  landscape  around  highly  culti 
vated,  and  every  object  inviting  to  repose.  Here 
the  bishop's  health  greatly  improved,  his  paroxysms 
became  less  frequent,  and  hopes  were  beginning  to 
be  entertained  of  his  recovery,  when  a  circumstance 
occurred  which  rendered  those  hopes  fallacious. 

A  large  number  of  ejectment  cases  had  been  laid 
over  from  the  last  quarter  sessions,  in  consequence 
of  the  landlord's  illness,  and  Mr.  Margin  was  at  a  loss 
to  know  how  to  proceed.  Hearing  that  his  lordship 
was  rapidly  recovering  he  wrote  Lira  for  instructions 
several  times ;  but  r»  ceiving  no  reply  he  pondered 
over  the  case  and  finally  came  to  the  determination 


o28         THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

of  paying  a  visit  to  the  invalid.  He  thought,  too, 
that  this  act  of  courtesy  would  secure  him  future 
favors;  so  off  he  started  in  the  month  of  May  for 
London,  with  a  bustling  and  important  air,  sending 
his  bailiffs  around  before  his  departure  to  warn  the 
unhappy  tenantry  to  be  prepared  for  the  worst  on  his 
return.  Fresh  consternation  and  renewed  tears  were 
the  result  of  those  warnings. 

One  lovely  afternoon  Lord  Biggs  was  reclining 
in  a  large  arm-chair  on  the  lawn,  enjoying  the 
beauty  of  the  evening  and  the  charming  landscape. 
He  had  a  portfolio  of  handsome  engravings  lying 
before  him  on  a  rustic  table.  His  valet  had  just 
gone  into  the  house  for  a  few  moments,  when  a  turn 
in  the  avenue  brought  a  new  comer  in  sight.  At 
first  he  seemed  not  to '  recognize  the  person,  but  a 
few  rapid  strides  brought  Margin,  bowing  and 
scraping,  face  to  face  with  his  lordship.  The  un 
happy  bishop  trembled  like  an  autumnal  leaf  at  the 
presence  of  the  unwelcome  visitor;  but  when  the 
agent,  making  another  profound  obeisance,  inquired 
after  his  lordship's  health,  maniac  lightning  seemed 
to  flash  from  the  bishop's  eyes — he  uttered  a  fierce 
growl  and  clutched  Margin  by  the  throat.  Having, 
as  before  intimated,  a  diseased  leg,  and  being  taken 
unawares,  Margin  lost  his  balance  and  fell  to  the 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        329 

ground.  The  frantic  Biggs  jumped  upon  him  and 
endeavored  to  strangle  him.  Margin  screamed  for 
his  life,  and  the  whole  household  rushing  out  he 
was  saved  from  immediate  death.  But  Lord  Biggs's. 
delirium  returned  in  the  most  aggravated  form* 
Mrs.  Biggs  bitterly  upbraided  Margin  for  presuming 
to  speak  to  his  lordship  on  business.  He  assured 
her  he  had  not  done  so,  and  was  merely  commencing 
to  inquire  after  his  health  when  he  fell  upon  him. 

"No  wonder  he  should,"  she  replied.  "It  was 
your  bad  counsels  and  worse  acts  that  made  him  un 
popular  with  his  tenantry,  and  made  them  reject  the 
Book  of  Life  and  the  liberal  education  offered  to 
them  and  to  their  children." 

"  Is  this,  then,  madam,  the  reward  I  receive  for 
making  the  Glengoulah  estates  four  times  as  valua- 
ble  as  they  were  under  the  agency  of  De  Courcy  ? " 

"  Oh,  don't  you  speak  of  Mr.  De  Courcy.  What* 
ever  his  faults  were,  he  was  at  least  a  gentleman." 

"  Madam,  you  evidently  do  not  understand  the 
case ;  permit  me  to  explain — " 

"  Sir,  I  understand  one  thing — that  your  business 
is  with  his  lordship's  lawyers,  Messrs.  Hawse  & 
Jones,  of  whose  address  you  are  well  advised.  You 
certainly  have  none  in  this  house,  and  I  beg  you 
will  withdraw." 


330        THE  BTKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

Choking  with  rage  and  mortification,  Margin  for 
the  first  time  realized  the  truth  of  the  proverb : 

"  As  you  sow,  so  shall  you  reap." 

He  returned  to  Glengoulah  much  more  speedily  than 
he  had  anticipated  ;  and  if  not  a  better  he  was  deci 
dedly  a  much  more  ragged  man ;  for  his  new  coat, 
purchased  expressly  for  the  occasion,  was  torn  to 
shreds  in  the  scuffle  with  Biggs.  Pie  was  observed 
to  be  very  taciturn  and  crest-fallen  after  his  return. 
The  ejectment  cases  were  again  held  over  until  next 
session,  and  the  poor  tenants,  for  a  time  at  least,  felt 
secure  of  a  roof. 

The  bishop  became  so  untractable  that  he  could 
not  for  a  moment  be  left  alone,  as  he  attempted  self- 
destruction  several  times.  The  doctors  again  re 
commended  change  of  air  and  scene ;  so  Mrs.  Biggs, 
with  their  own  physician,  keeper?*  from  a  lunatic 
asylum,  servants,  etc.,  left  for  Paris'  early  in  June 
and  thence  to  different  cities,  crossing  into  Bel 
gium,  thence  to  Germany,  sailing  up  the  Rhine,  an  J 
visiting  every  place  of  interest.  All  was  in  vain. 
Biggs  seemed  to  become  more  frantic  every  new 
place  he  arrived  at.  His  lunacy,  however,  took 
different  phases.  Sometimes  he  would  shake  with 
terror  and  hide  away  in  holes  and  corners  from  the 
victims  of  his  avarice.  Again  he  would  imagine 


THE  BTKNE8  OF  GLENGOULAH.        331 

himself  in  the  plenitude  of  his  power  ordering  their 
arrest,  and  swearing  to  wipe  out  the  whole  Papist 
brood,  and  colonize  his  estate  with  Prptestants. 
Through  all  his  language  was  a  mixture  of  blas 
phemy  and  Pharisaical  cant.  He  would  curse  priests 
and  people  ;  but  his  heaviest  maledictions  were  re 
served  for  Margin,  whom  he  cursed  in  all  moods, 
and  vowed  to  exterminate  root  and  branch,  as  soon 
as  he  returned.  Finding  change  of  scene  ineffec 
tual,  they  came  back  to  England  about  the  end  of 
August. 

A  final  consultation  being  held  by  the  doctors, 
they  recommended  that  he  should  be  placed  under 
the  discipline  of  a  private  lunatic  asylum  immedi 
ately.  This  advice  was  forthwith  acted  upon,  and 
the  result  was  it  terminated  his  madness  and  his  life 
before  the  end  of  the  following  month.  In  the  last 
week  of  September,  just  as  the  rent-day  came  on, 
strapped  to  an  iron  bedstead  in  a  mad  house,  the 
unhappy  sinner  died !  His  last  words  were  a  male 
diction  on  Margin. 

How  inscrutible  are  the  ways  of  Providence  ! 
How  just  His  retributions !  This  was  the  end  of  all 
for  him  the  fame  of  whose  cruelties  rang  through 
all  Europe! 

The   Right  Reverend   Samuel  "W.  Biggs,  Lord 


332        THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

Bishop  of  Glengoulah  and  Ardmore — the  stroke  of 
whose  pen  sent  hundreds  of  virtuous  people  to  the 
crowded  towns  to  perish  of  want,  to  the  emigrant 
ship,  and  to  the  grave  ! — there  he  lies  dead  in  the 
cell  of  a  mad-house,  chained  like  a  dog  to  an  iron 
bed  !  Dead !  without  one  friendly  voice  to  soothe 
his  last  moments !  Dead !  without  kith  or  kin  to 
close  his  eyes,  or  a  Christian  tongue  to  utter  one 
prayer  for  mercy  on  that  passing  soul  so  heavily 
laden ! 

"Sic  transit  gloria  mundil" 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

ONE  clear,  balmy  morning  in  October,  in  that  sea 
son  which  is  poetically  called  in  Ireland  "  The  poor 
man's  harvest,"  a  woman  of  prepossessing  and  still 
youthful  appearance,  dressed  in  an  humble  garb  of 
black,  and  holding  by  the  hand  a  little  girl  with 
fair,  clustering  curls,  was  sitting  in  the  parlor  of  the 
Presentation  Convent  of  Ardmore.  Soon  a  beauti 
ful  young  lady  entered,  attired  in  the  dress  of  a  pos 
tulant  of  that  order.  Her  soft,  hazel  eyes  were  lit 
up  with  a  smile  of  pleasure  as  she  caught  sight  of 
the  widow,  who  immediately  arose  and  courtesied. 
The  young  postulant  exclaimed :  "  My  dear  Win 
nie,  I  arn  so  glad  to  see  you  !  and  this  is  your  little 
Mary?"  She  took  "Winnie's  toil-worn  lingers  be 
t-ween  her  soft,  white  hands  as  she  spoke,  and  then 
patted  the  child's  golden  curls. 

"  You  were  so  good,  miss,  as  to  invite  me  to  come 
to  see  you !  And  some  of  the  neighbors  told  me  you 
would  be  soon  going  to  England  again,  so  I  took  tho 
liberty  of  asking  for  you." 


334:  THE    BYRNES   OF   GLENUOUf.AII. 

"  Winnie,"  said  the  young  lady,  earnestly,  "have 
you  lieard  the  news  from  England?" 

"  Vcs,  miss ;  I  heard  it.  God  pity  us  all !  In 
deed,  indeed,  Miss  Clara,  I  felt  heart  sorry  for  3*011!  " 
Poor  Clara  covered  her  face  with  her  hands,  and 
Winnie  wept  in  sympathy. 

"  Ah,  Winnie,  what  a  contrast !  Which  of  them 
was  the  richer  man  ?  You  have  every  reason  to  be 
lieve  3'our  dear  husband  is  in  heaven  with  God  and 
his  saints  furcvermore  ;  but  my  wretched,  wretched 
uncle  died  in  his  sins!" 

"  Oh,  Miss  Clara,  dear !  don't  grieve  your  noble 
heart  for  one  so  unworthy.  Sure,  if  he  took  your 
advice,  or  any  one's  with  a  conscience,  it's  alive  and 
happy  he'd  be  to-day.  And  they  say  many's  the 
warnin'  he  got  to  let  the  poor  alone,  but  he  wouldn't 
heed  them,  and  their  cries  pierced  the  heavens  at 
last.  My  heart  aches  to  see  an  angel  like  you  shed 
ding  a  tear  for  him  !  " 

"  It  is  because  of  his  life  of  crime,  Winnie,  that  I 
cannot  help  weeping  for  his  miserable  death.  He- 
member,  Winnie,  his  soul  was  created  to  God's  im 
age.  Oh,  what  a  disfigured  image  he  made  of  it !  " 

"  That's  just  the  way  my  father  feels  when  he 
speaks  of  his  death.  lie  mourns  for  his  soul  as  if  all 
belongin'  to  him  was  laid  low.  Sure,  I  know  it's  the 


THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGODLAH.        335 

right  feelin',  and  I  ought  to  think  of  these  things  too; 
but  oh,  Miss  Clara,  dear !  pray  God  to  forgive  me.  I 
can't  for  my  life  think  of  him  but  I  think  of  my 
peaceable,  happy  home,  if  it  was  poor ;  and  of  the 
hearty  laugh  my  poor  darlin'  was  givin'  when  the 
peeler  darkened  our  door !  Oh !  vo,  vo,  vo !  A  laugh 
will  never  be  heard  there  more !  Oh,  Miss,  honey  ! 
why  did  he  choose  out  the  purest  and  best  man  that 
ever  lived,  and  persecute  him  to  the  gallows?'1 

Winnie  was  in  one  of  her  paroxysms  of  grief  at 
the  recollection  of  her  devoted  husband.  She  wrung 
her  hands  and  raised  her  eyes  to  heaven  in  the  aban 
donment  of  sorrow.  Clara  was  awed  into  silence  at 
this  outbreak,  so  natural  and  so  touching.  She  had 
never  before  seen  such  a  manifestation  of  woe,  and 
it  added  another  link  to  the  chain  of  evidence  every 
day  growing  stronger  on  her  mind  that  the  Irish 
were  a  people  of  the  deepest  feelings.  She  did  not 
dare  interrupt  a  sorrow  so  sacred.  After  a  \vhile 
Winnie  came  over  to  ask  her  pardon.  She  said  her 
heart  was  overcharged,  and  she  could  not  control 
herself. 

"  Indeed,  my  poor  child ! "  she  said,  taking  the 
widow's  hands  in  both  her  own,  "I  am  very  far 
from  condemning  your  feelings  ;  but,  Winnie,  I  have 
not  told  you  the  news  about  myself.  I  have  become 


336         THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

an  inmate  of  this  convent ;  yes,  indeed."  And  she 
smiled  at  Winnie's  blank  look  of  amazement. 

"  I  am  going  to  be  a  nun,  please  God.  And  do 
you  know  the  favor  Mother  Prioress  lias  granted 
me  ?  I  am  to  be  called,  in  religion,  Sister  Norah.  1 

7  O  J 

wish  to  bear  while  I  live  the  name  of  that  dear  child 
who  first  brought  the  dawn  of  faith  to  my  darkened 
soul." 

"  And  you  are  not  going  back  to  England,  miss  ? 
And  you  are,  for  sure,  going  to  stay  with  us  here  in. 
Ardrnore  ! " 

"  For  sure  and  certain,  "Winnie.  I  wrote  to  papa 
for  permission — he  is  in  Rome ;  and  from  the  fav 
orable  answer  I  received  I  have  very  strong  hopes, 
through  God's  mercy,  that  he  too  will  soon  be  re 
ceived  into  the  Church.  He  is  about  being  con 
verted.  Now  is  not  this  delightful  news  ?  See  how 
sweetly  our  Heavenly  Father  dispenses  to  us  joys 
and  sorrows,  both  alike  to  draw  us  to  himself. 
And  now,  when  your  little  Mary  is  old  enough  to 
come  to  school,  Sister  Norah  will  be  her  teacher ; 
meantime  you  must  all  pray  to  the  Blessed  Mother 
to  obtain  for  me  the  grace  of  perseverance." 

"Winnie  felt  happier  that  day  than  she  had  done 
since  Bryan's  death.  She  hastened  home  to  com 
municate  the  joyful  intelligence  to  her  parents,  and 


THE  BYUNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.         337 

great  were  the  rejoicings  all  through  Glengoulah, 
Tinmanogne  and  Ardmore  when  it  was  known  that 
the  beautiful  young  English  lady  had  become  a 
nun. 

A  few  days  later  it  was  announced  that  the  Glen- 
goulah  estates  had  become  the  property  of  George 
Bentley,  Esq.,  the  nearest  heir-at-law  to  the  departed 
bishop.  He  was  a  country  gentleman  in  England, 
having  much  property  there,  and  being  an  excellent 
landlord  he  felt  ashamed  of  the  unenviable  notoriety 
acquired  by  his  predecessor,  and  was  determined  to 
leave  nothing  undone  to  repair  the  scandals  now  the 
topic  of  general  conversation.  He  betook  himself  to 
Glengoulah  Castle  as  soon  as  possible,  and  set  about 
seeking  testimony  from  both  sides  as  to  the  charac 
ter  of  the  tenantry,  the  treatment  to  which  they  were 
subjected  by  both  agents,  the  relative  condition  of 
the  estates  under  the  past  and  present  regime,  etc., 
etc.  His  cousin,  Clara  Meriville,  now  Sister  Norah, 
of  the  Presentation  convent,  gave  him  valuable  aid 
in  his  inquiries.  He  visited  the  farms  himself,  and 
conversed  with  many  of  the  tenantry — sent  for  some 
of  the  dispossessed,  and  promised  to  reinstate  them 
if  their  conduct  bore  the  investigation  he  designed 
making.  Margin  was  the  first  to  pay  court  to  the 
new  landlord.  Mr.  Bentley  received  him  courte- 
15 


338        THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

ousl}',  for  he  resolved  to  be  perfectly  unbiased  in  his 
judgment,  and  invited  all,  agent  and  tenant  alike,  to 
lay  their  grievances  before  him.  Margin  did  not 
much  relish  this  state  of  things,  but  he  determined 
to  have  the  first  statement,  arid  thus  try  to  create  a 
favorable  impression  of  himself  in  the  mind  of  Mr. 
Bentley.  Accordingly  he  drew  a  frightful  picture  of 
insubordination,  bigotry,  lawless  violence,  arising 
from  treating  with  too  much  kindness  a  people  who 
were  unable  to  appreciate  it,  always  requiring  a 
strong  hand  over  them,  or  they  would  be  sure  to  ewd 
in  arson,  or,  probably,  assassination. 

Mr.  Bentley  listened  attentively,  made  copious 
notes,  but  uttered  no  word  of  comment.  Margin 
had  strong  hopes  he  would  mar  the  evidence  of  his 
opponents  by  this  timely  eloquence,  and  corrobo 
rated  all  his  statements  by  a  written  document 
signed  by  those  political  fanatics  who  made  them 
selves  so  conspicuous  on  the  trial  of  Bryan  Demp- 
sey,  and  by  the  honorable  and  truthful  Sandy  Mc- 
Glauren. 

Unluckily  for  Mr.  Margin,  about  this  juncture 
Lord  Wallingford  returned  from  a  lengthened  so 
journ  on  the  continent  to  the  great  delight  of  his 
tenantry,  who  strewed  the  roads  with  green  boughs, 
and  would  have  taken  the  horses  from  his  carriage 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        339 

and  drawn  him  home  as  in  a  triumphal  car,  but  he 
would  not  allow  it.  Arcades  of  flowers  were  formed 
in  every  village  through  which  he  passed,  even  in 
those  places  where  the  people  had  not  the  good  for 
tune  to  own  him  for  a  landlord.  Such  was  the  ad 
miration  and  respect  felt  for  a  good  man,  who  was 
always  actuated  by  a  sense  of  justice.  About  a 
week  after  this  arrival  a  card,  announcing  a  visit 
from  Lord  Wallingford,  was  handed  to  Mr.  Bentley 
at  the  castle.  They  met  in  the  library,  and  his 
lordship  greeted  Mr.  Bentley  most  cordially  and 
welcomed  him  to  the  county.  After  some  general 
conversation,  Lord  Wallingford  said:  'k  You  have  a 
splendid  property  here,  Mr.  Bentley." 

"  Yes  ;  but  I  was  half  afraid  to  take  possession  of 
it.  I  do  assure  your  lordship,  it  required  no  small 
amount  of  both  moral  and  physical  courage  to  face 
the  terrible  dangers  predicted  for  me  by  my  friends 
in  England,  maiming  for  life  being  among  the  small 
est.  I  take  credit  to  myself  for  being  a  most  valiant 
knight,  and  doubt  not,  if  I  lived  in  the  ages  of  chiv 
alry,  I  should  have  won  my  golden  spurs  while  yet 
a  stripling." 

"  Your  danger  or  safety,  Mr.  Bentley,  depends 
entirely  on  yourself.  I  speak  to  you  candidly,  as 
one  man  of  honor  should  to  another.  You  have 


340        THE  BYRNK8  OF  GLKNGOULAH. 

come  to  reside  among  a  people  of  deep  passions  and 
warm  affections — a  people  keenly  alive  to  a  sense 
of  wrong,  but  so  long  loaded  down  with  oppression 
as  to  receive  as  favors  and  repay  with  sinceresl, 
gratitude  those  common  acts  of  justice  which  you 
are  every  day  accustomed  to  render  to  your  English 
tenantry,  and  which  they"  expect  as  a  right.  You 
will  find  plenty  to  convey  to  you  a  very  different 
character  of  this  people,  but  if-you  are  the  man  of 
sense  and  honor  I  take  you  to  be  you  will  not  allow 
your  judgment  to  be  warped." 

"  But  you  forget,  my  lord,  that  I  am  a  stranger. 
How  am  I  to  judge,  except  by  the  testimony  of  re 
liable  witnesses?  Quite  lately  I  was  honored  by 
two  statements  —  one  made  in  writing,  and  one 
in  language  of  surpassing  eloquence — by  gentlemen 
whose  veracity  they  assure  mo  has  never  been  called 
in  question  excepting  by  a  low  rabble,  who  ought 
to  have  been  hanged  long  ago  if  they  had  their 
merit.  Those  gentlemen  seem  to  be  equally  con 
versant  with  the  value  of  sheep  and  pure  Bible  edu 
cation,  green  crops  and  Popery,  while  they  know 
every  turn  of  a  peasant's  mind,  and  can  read  his 
motives  better  than  he  can  himself.  Would  you 
have  me  insensible  to  the  advantage  of  possessing 
such  a  mine  of  information  2  " 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        341 

Lord  Wallingford,  seeing  the  smile  which  played 
on  Mr.  Bentley's  face,  joined  with  the  quiet  sarcasm 
of  his  words,  found  that  he  was  one  not  likely  to  be 
turned  from  the  path  of  rectitude,  and  that  the  cause 
of  the  long-suffering  people  would  be  safe  in  his 
hands.  Smiling,  he  said  :  "  I  see,  Mr.  Bentley,  you 
are  a  man  of  penetration.  Have  you  seen  Margin, 
the  agent,  yet  ? " 

"Why, -my  lord,  he  did  me  the  honor  of  introduc 
ing  himself  this  morning,  after  my  arrival.  He  is 
the  gentleman  to  whose  moving  eloquence  I  alluded 
just  now,  and  from  whose  inexhaustible  mine  of 
information  I  expect  such  valuable  aids  to  the  acqui 
sition  of  wealth." 

"  And  he  really  had  the  effrontery  to  look  an  hon 
est  man  in  the  face  ?  Your  allusion  to  mines,  in 
connection  with  his  name,  is  more  apropos  than  you 
are  aware  of.  Did  you  know  that  he  had  a  lawsuit 
with  me,  Mr.  Bentley,  respecting  the  mines  of  Coold- 
nure  ? " 

"  No,  my  lord  ;  bat  I  shall  consider  myself  your 
lordship's  debtor  if  you  will  kindly  inform  me  of 
the  transaction." 

Here  Lord  Wallingford  entered  into  the  details 
we  have  already  laid  before  our  readers  of  Jacob 
Margin's  antecedents,  and  drew  a  faithful  picture  of 


34:2  THE    BYRNES    OF    GLENGOULAH. 

the  rascal's  character,  and  the  transformation  effected 
on  the  Glengoulah  estates  since  he  became  agent. 
Mr.  Bentley's  open  smile  vanished,  and  a  dark  cloud 
of  indignation  overspread  his  manly  countenance, 
as  Lord  "YVallingford  proceeded  with  his  narrative. 

"  I  thank  you  most  heartily,  my  lord,  for  this  in 
formation  ;  it  shall  not  be  lost  upon  me.  Do  you 
know  a  man  named  O'Hara,  who  lives  in  this  neigh 
borhood — Jeremiah  O'Hara  ?  I  believe  he  is  lame." 

"  Oh,  yes ;  '  Lame  Jerry '  they  call  him — an  hou- 
est,  outspoken  poor  man  he  was  when  I  left  home, 
and  a  genius  in  his  way." 

"  A  man  of  surprising  information  for  a  peasant. 
I  had  a  long  interview  with  him  yesterday,  and  he 
really  gave  me  more  insight  into  the  state  of  affairs 
in  Glengoulah  than  any  one  I  spoke  with  until  I  had 
the  good  fortune  to  meet  your  lordship*  You  will,  I 
trust,  pardon  the  comparison." 

"  Pardon  !  my  good  friend  ;  you  do  me  quite  an 
honor.  Why,  '  Lame  Jerry '  is  one  of  the  natural 
curiosities  of  the  County  "Wicklow  ;  and  a  tourist 
might  as  well  leave  the  country  without  seeing  St. 
Kevin's  bed,  or 

'  Glendalough,  whose  gloomy  shore 
Sky  lark  never  warbled  o'er,' 

as  without  hearing  the  poetic  legends  of  Lame  Jer 


THE   J3YUNE3   OF   GLENGOULAH.  343 

ry ;  besides  this,  he  possesses  a  large  stock  of  historic 
lore,  and  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  condition  of 
landlord  and  tenant  in  nearly  all  the  countries  of 
Europe.  Jerry  is  the  oracle  of  at  least  three  coun 
ties.  He  lost  a  leg  at  Waterloo,  for  which  he  re 
ceives  a  small  pension  from  Government." 

"  Ah  !  I  see  you  are  not  aware,  my  lord,  that  he 
has  been  deprived  of  that  trifle." 

"  No  !  Mr.  Bentley  !  you  are  not  serious  ?" 

"  Yes,  indeed  !  The  poor  man  assured  me  he  had 
been  describing  to  a  number  of  peasantry  one  eve 
ning,  sitting  in  a  group  on  the  road-side,  the  condi 
tion  of  the  Russian  serfs,  and  its  vast  superiority 
over  their  own,  when  lie  discovered  that  the  Scotch 
steward  had  been  playing  eavesdropper.  Shortly 
after  this  Margin  trumped  up  some  charge  against 
him  of  conspiracy,  or  some  other  folly,  and  the  poor 
man's  pension  was  withdrawn,  the  learned  judge 
assuring  him  he  was  very  leniently  dealt  with  in 
consequence  of  having  but  one  leg." 

"  Oh  !  shame,  shame  !  However,  Jerry  shall 
never  need  their  pension  while  I  live." 

"  He  does  not  need  it  now,  my  lord.  He  tells  me 
he  wants  for  nothing,  and  never  knew  before  how 
many  friends  he  could  count  upon." 

"  Well,  Mr.  Bentley,  that  single  transaction  con- 


344        THE  BYKNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

tains  a  volume  for  a  man  possessed^  of  jour  high 
principles ;  but  of  this  more  hereafter.  I  hopo  to  see 
you  soon  at  Clonmalure.  If  you  are  an  admirer  of 
the  picturesque,  we  have  some  handsome  scenery 
there ;  if  your  taste  lies  in  literary  pursuits,  I  have 
a  few  rare  books  and  manuscripts  in  my  library  ; 
and  if  you  are  anything  of  a  sportsman,  I  think  we 
can  please  you ;  for  my  old  huntsman,  Larry  Mc- 
Quade  (a  perfect  genius,  by  the  way,  to  whom  I  must 
introduce  you)  boasts  that  he  has  the  finest  hordes 
and  dogs  in  the  country.  I  expect  a  few  friends  to 
dinner  on  Tuesday,  and  if  you  will  do  me  the  honor 
to  join  our  little  party  sans  ceremonie  I  shall  be  most 
happy." 

"I  hope  your  lordship  will  be  so  good  as  to  hold 
me  excused.  I  am  sincerely  thankful  for  your  kind 
ness,  but  I  purpose  leaving  Ireland  in  a  few  days, 
and  prefer  remaining  quiet  until  my  plans  are  more 
matured.  I  merely  came  this  time  to  have  ocular 
demonstration  of  convictions  already  established  in 
my  mind.  I  purpose  returning  in  May,  and  then, 
my  lord,  I  hope  we  shall  spend  many  happy  hours 
together." 

The  gentlemen  shook  hands  and  parted,  mutually 
pleased  with  the  frank  and  genial  qualities  they  dis 
covered  in  each  other. 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        345 

Mr.  Bentley  wrote  Margin  from  England  to  notify 
the  tenants  that  he  would  not  require  the  March 
rent  to  be  paid  until  the  third  week  of  May,  and 
that  they  should  then  meet  him  at  Glengoulah  Cas 
tle,  as  he  intended  giving  them  a  collation  on  the 
lawn,  thus  introducing  himself  to  all  of  them  in 

'  O 

person.  He  also  invited  Margin,  Sandy  M'Glauren, 
and  all  the  bailiffs,  Bible  readers,  etc.,  etc.,  formerly 
in  the  employ  of  his  predecessor. 

Margin  sent  the  notification  around  only  on  the 
eve  of  rent-day.  He  never  performed  a  more  dis 
tasteful  task,  and  put  it  off  until  the  last  moment. 

The  invitation  angered  well,  and  high  hopes 
began  once  more  to  take  possession  of  hearts  where 
only  despair  had  so  long  dwelt.  Still  the  people 
felt  a  little  disappointed  that  Margin  was  retained 
as  agent,  but  consojed  themselves  with  the  hope 
that  he  would  be  at  least  shorn  of  the  power  to  do 
evil  any  more. 


IS* 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

MAT  came  at  last,  and  with  the  daisies  and  prim 
roses  came  the  summons  to  the  landlord's  entertain 
ment.  The  castle  and  lawn  presented  a  gay  appear 
ance.  An  immense  marquee  was  erected,  underneath 
which  long  tables  were  spread,  covered  with  sub- 
stantials  of  every  variety.  Pipers  and  fiddlers,  in  the 
midst  of  groups,  were  dispersed  through"  the  tent 
and  lawn  ;  but  the  chair  of  honor  was  reserved  for 
Darby  Wholahan.  It  was  an  old-fashioned  high- 
backed  chair,  placed  on  an  elevation,  festooned  with 
evergreens  and  flowers,  and  was  arranged  at  the  head 
of  the  tent  under  a  clump  of  larch-trees  that  trailed 
their  graceful  branches  like  a  bower  on  either  side 
of  him,  and  where  all  could  see  him  when  the  can 
vas  was  rolled  up. 

"When  the  repast  was  finished,  Mr.  Bentley,  accom 
panied  by  Mr.  De  Courcy,  entered  the  tent,  and  was 
introduced  to  the  tenantry  by  their  old  and  loved 
agent.  Baskets  of  wine  were  opened  on  all  sides, 
and  landlord,  tenants  and  all  drank  health,  long-life 
and  happiness  to  each  other  in  flowing  bumpers.  A 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        347 

party  of  gentlemen  from  the  surrounding  and  neigh 
boring  county  came  in,  including  Sir  Lawrence 
O'Donnell  and  Lord  Wallingford,  and  pleasant  greet 
ings  were  exchanged.  To  Toney  Byrne,  whom  the 
neighbors  had  placed  at  the  head  of  the  centre-table 
— in  spite  of  all  his  entreaties — they  paid  special  at 
tention.  Mr.  Bentley  jumped  lightly  on  a  bench  and 
addressed  the  people  : 

"  Men  of  Glengoulah  :  I  invited  you  here  to-day 
for  a  threefold  purpose.  First,  that  we  niijjit  all 
become  acquainted  with  each  other ;  secondly,  that 
I  might  try  to  do  justice  where  so  much  necessity 
for  it  existed  ;  and  thirdly,  that  I  would  see  you  en 
joy  yourselves.  We  Englishmen  are  said  to  be  very 
gruff  fellows ;  but  I  beg  to  assure  you  that  I  am  a  very 
sociable  character,  not  at  all  long-faced,  but  on  the 
contrary  a  great  admirer  of  rational  amusements, 
and  a  believer  in  the  old  adage  that  '  God  loves  a 
cheerful  heart.'  You  see,  though,  a  very  modest 
man,  I  can  sound  my  own  praises.  I  feel  confident 
when  we  become  better  acquainted  we  shall  feel  for 
each  other  that  esteem  and  affection  which  should 
exist  between  a  good  landlord  and  worthy  tenantry, 
somewhat  resembling  the  ties  of  mutual  love  and 
respect  existing  between  a  father  and  his  children. 
I  have  English  tenantry  too,  to  whom  I  am  much 


348         THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

attached  ;  but  as  I  have  not  the  gift  of  ubiquity,  I 
have  decided  upon  residing  every  alternate  year  in 
Ireland  and  England.  Having  said  so  much  by 
way  of  introducing  myself,  I  shall  now  refer  to  my 
second  object  in  calling  you  around  me. 

"  Men  of  Glengoulah,  I  have  made  the  most  mi 
nute  investigations  in  your  regard,  and  am  quite  sat 
isfied  you  have  been  a  maligned  and  misrepresented 
people.  You  have  suffered  much  for  some  years 
past,  and  it  is  but  fair  to  reward  those  who  merit  it. 
To  all  my  tenantry  I  give  an  abatement  of  twenty- 
five  per  cent. ;  to  some,  who  have  been  more  especially 
imposed  upon,  and  whose  cases  will  receive  imme 
diate  attention,  a  further  abatement  will  be  made." 
(A  burst  of  cheers  rang  through  hill  and  dale.) 
"  Anthony  Byrne,  I  beg  to  inform  you  that  you 
shall  be  fully  reinstated  in  your  old  farm,  which 
shall  be  newly  stocked,  to  compensate  you  in  some 
small  degree  for  the  injustice  you  suffered  and  bore 
so  admirably.  Any  alterations  you  deem  necessary 
in  the  new  house,  which  was  erected  after  the  fire, 
shall  be  made  at  my  expense.  For  your  eldest  son, 
who  is  now  old  enough  to  do  for  himself,  I  have  a 
choice  farm  ;  and  for  your  daughter — the  widow  of 
poor  Dempsey — I  have  ordered  an  annuity  to  be  set 
tled  upon  her  and  her  heirs  forever."  Cheer  after 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        349 

cheer  broke  forth,  and  the  old  hills  gave  back  the 
echoes  oft  renewed.  Toney  Byrne  stood  up  and 
made  vain  efforts  to  speak ;  but  the  tears  which 
coursed  down  his  cheeks  were  more  eloquent  than 
words.  Mr.  Bentley  resumed :  "  These  are  only 
acts  of  simple  justice,  my  friends,  and  not  worth 
thanking  for.  Every  injustice  on  my  estates  shall 
be  repaired.  Mr.  Margin  will  please  come  forward. 
Jacob  Margin,  I  arraign  you  before  the  tribunal  of 
a  people  whose  sacred"  rights  you  have  trampled  up 
on,  whose  holiest  feelings  you  have  outraged,  whose 
homes  you  have  made  desolate  or  levelled  with  the 
dust." 

"  I  was  but  the  servant  of  your  right  reverend 
relation,  Mr.  Bentley.  I  only  followed  my  orders !  " 
exclaimed  Margin,  sneeringly. 

"  Peace,  man  !  I  know  your  antecedents.  You 
had  sent  your  victims  to  the  penal  colony,  and  to 
the  gallows,  before  you  laid  eyes  on  the  Glengoulah 
estates.  I  do  not  seek  to  justify  the  memory  of  my 
unfortunate  predecessor ;  but  I  know  who  was  his 
evil  counsellor  and  his  willing  tool.  In  the  presence 
of  the  people  I  dismiss  you  in  disgrace.  You  are 
no  longer  agent  of  mine.  I  also  dismiss  your  col 
league,  Sandy  McGlauren,  and  all  your  troop  of 
cormorants,  bailiffs,  Bible-readers,  and  the  rest. 


350         THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

You,  Margin,  are  an  old  man,  and  I  advise  you  to 
repent  of  your  misdeeds  and  make  restitution." 

Margin  quickly  disappeared.  Silence  reigned  for 
a  few  moments.  Though  brimful  of  joy  at  the  an 
nouncement,  no  voice  was  raised  in  triumph.  With 
that  instinctive  delicacy  which  is  pre-eminently  the 
characteristic  of  the  Irish  people,  they  refrained 
from  rejoicing  over  a  fallen  foe.  Mr.  Bentley  re 
sumed  :  "  I  have  the  happiness  to  announce  to  you 
that  Mr.  De  Courcy  " — at  the  mention  of  that  hon 
ored  name  all  sprang  to  their  feet,  and  cheer  after 
cheer  echoed  and  re-echoed  through  the  hills — "  Mr. 
De  Courcy,  who  loves  you  all  as  his  children." 
-Again  the  wild  cheers  broke  forth,  and  the  people 
seemed  perfectly  crazy.  Mr.  Bentley,  laughing, 
said  :  "  I  see  I  cannot  name  that  name.  "Well,  a 
certain  gentleman  has  resigned  his  seat  in  Parlia 
ment,  where  he  long  and  vainly  strove  to  obtain  a 
fair  settlement  of  the  landlord  and  tenant  question, 
and  prefers  again  to  become  a  quiet  country  gentle 
man,  living  at  peace  amongst  those  who  love  him, 

and "  Here  his  voice  was  drowned  m  cheers 

and  shouts  from  several  parties. 

"  God  bless  him,  and  you  too,  Mr.  Bentley ! " 
"  Long  life  to  ye  both  !  "  "  That  you  may  never  die 
at  all!" 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        351 

"  I  see  you  are  not  willing  to  listen  to  me." 

A  stentorian  voice  shouted  :  "  Boys,  give  three  rale 
Irish  cheers  and  a  ceadmillefailthafoi'  Mr.  Bentley, 
our  good  landlord  !  "  These  were  given  with  a  hearty 
good  will,  throwing  up  of  hats,  and  the  wildest  en 
thusiasm. 

"  Now  boys,"  cried  the  same  voice,  "  hould  your 
tongues.  Not  another  word.  Let  the  gentleman 
spake." 

"  I  often  heard,"  resumed  Mr.  Bentley,  '*  of  an 
Irish  cheer ;  but  now  I  understand  what  it  is." 

"  I  have  not  much  more  to  say.  Mr.  De  Courcy 
has  done  me  a  great  favor  in  accenting  the  agency 
of  these  estates.  It  is  to  him  a  labor  of  love,  he 
says,  and  I  know  you  will  all  appreciate  his  kind 
ness  in  saying  so.  He  is  not  only  my  agent,  but  my 
most  valued  and  honored  friend.  The  property  shall 
be  entirely  controlled  by  his  wise  head,  who  knows 
the  necessities  and  capacities  of  the  tenantry.  I  now 
want  to  see  you  enjoy  yourselves  in  dancing,  and  all 
your  national  pastimes." 

There  were  loud  calls  for  Mr.  De  Courcy,  but  he 
merely  bowed  and  smiled  his  acknowledgments, 
while  they  drank  his  health  and  rent  the  air  with 
cheers.  When  he  retired,  Lame  Jerry  arose  and 
begged  "  before  the  dancing  commenced,  that  every 


352  THE   BYRNES    OF   GLENGOTTLAH. 

one  should  fill  their  glasses  and  drink  long  life  and 
every  prosperity  and  happiness  to  their  respected 
neighbor  and  loved  friend,  Anthony  O'JByrne,  tho 
old  chieftain  of  Glengoulah."  Again  the  old  hills 
gave  back  the  echo  of  the  oft-renewed  cheers  which 
seemed  never-ending,  when  Darby  Wholahan 
jumped  up,  rolling  his  sightless  eyes  around,  ex 
claiming  : 

"  Boys,  I'm  going  to  improvise."  [Cries of  "  Bravo, 
Darby !  it's  yourself  can  do  it !  "]  "  I  am  going,  I 
say,  to  improvise.  Most  of  yees  knows  what  that 
manes  ;  but,  lest  there  should  be  any  gorsoons  whose 
powers  of  discrimination  are  not  nately  developed, 
I'll  translate  it  for  their  edification.  I  said,  I  was 
going  to  improvise.  Now  that  manes,  my  young 
friends,  I'm  going  to  compose  a  song  for  this  truly 
festive  occasion,  illustrative  of  the  bards  of  old  in 
the  ancient  halls  of  our  forefathers.  I  shall  also  im 
provise  an  air  upon  my  ancient  instrument — the 
pipes."  ["  Bravo  !  Long  life  to  Darby  Wholahan, 
the  king  of  pipers ;  the  best  musician  in  the  barony  ! 
aye,  or  in  the  whole  county,  for  that  matter  !  " 

Darby  sat  down  and  flourished  a  number  of  chords 
with  great  rapidity,  then  struck  a  particular  key ; 
and  gazing  upward,  as  if  reviewing  the  past,  present 
and  future  in  the  light  of  the  soul,  he  broke  forth  in 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        353 

a  wild  but  most  harmonious  recitative  of  the  ancient 
glories  of  "  Green  Erin  of  the  Streams  " — her  ages 
of  martyrdom  and  long-sufferings  for  the  faith  of 
Christ,  the  valiant  deeds  of  her  sons,  foremost  among 
whom  was  the  gallant  O'Byrne  of  Glengoulah.  He 
then  touched  on  the  penal  laws,  their  disinheriting 
effects  and  consequent  impoverishment  of  the  old 
Celtic  race,  shoving  them  out  by  wholesale  and  in 
troducing  in  their  stead  the  Sassenach,  some  of  whom 
were  as  bad  as  the  evil  one  could  make  them,  but 
whose  wicked  deeds  we  would  pass  over  to-day  in 
honor  of  him  who  would  become  "  more  Irish  than 
the  Irish  themselves,"  and  under  whose  benign  sway 
the  lovely  hills  and  vales  of  their  country,  so  cele 
brated  in  song  and  story,  would  again  resound  with 
the  joyous  laugh  and  merry  dance — where  the  poor 
and  the  stranger  would  ever  find  a  welcome,  and  the 
bard  be  honored  as  in  days  of  yore  1 

He  ceased.  During  the  recitative  a  number  of 
gentlemen  from  the  castle  stole  on  tip-toe,  one  by 
one,  into  the  tent,  and  listened  delightedly.  Now 
cheers,  bravos  and  compliments  flowed  in  upon  all 
sides.  Mr.  Bentley  and  many  other  gentlemen  came 
forward  as  he  ceased,  to  shake  by  the  hand  a  bard 
who  combined  poet  and  musician  in  his  own  person. 
Mr.  Bentley  requested  "  that  Mr.  Wholahan  would 


354:  THE   BYRNES   OF  GLENGOULAH. 

call  and  see  him  at  the  castle  on  his  next  visit  to 
Glengoulah.  By  that  time  he  expected  Mrs.  Bent- 
ley  and  his  family  there,  and  as  his  wife  was  some 
what  of  a  musician  herself,  she  would  be  pleased  to 
meet  a  genius  like  Mr.  Wholahan,"  etc.  A  proud 
and  happy  man  was  Darby  that  night.  -  Such  tones 
as  he  brought  out  of  the  pipes  were  never  before 
heard  by  mortal  ears.  As  our  droll  friend  Tom 
Moody  said :  "  It  would  make  a  cat  spake  to  see  the 
humors  of  the  ould  head  joggin'  from  side  to  side, 
now  smilin'  down  at  the  pipes,  and  then  snuffin'  up 
at  the  stars." 

It  was  indeed  a  most  entrancing  sight.  The  sun 
had  sunk  behind  the  western  hills,  but  the  sapphire 
and  golden  tints  which  accompanied  his  declining 
course  were  still  spread  far  over  the  firmament,  while 
the  moon,  sailing  slowly  and  majestically  onward, 
threw  a  flood  of  silver  radiance  on  the  old  woods 
skirting  the  noble  lawn,  and  shed  a  trail  of  glitter 
ing  spangles  on  the  bosom  of  the  Ovoca.  Groups 
of  happy  boys  and  girls  footed  away  right  merrily 
"  The  Eocky  Koad  to  Dublin,"  «  Lather  the  Wig," 
"  Trip  to  the  Cottage,"  etc.,  on  the  smooth  velvet 
turf.  Occasionally  Darby's  voice  could  be  heard : 
"  That's  yourself,  Mick ;  but  it's  no  wonder  you 
do  it  so  nately  with  such  a  partner !  Sure,  Bessie 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        355 

Daily  wouldn't  hurt  a  bunch  of  primroses  if  she 
danced  on  them,  her  step  is  so  light.  Ah,  Bessie, 
you  decavin'  rogue  !  though  }rou  tread  so  lightly  on 
the  turf,  upon  my  conscience  you're  hard  enough 
upon  the  boys'  hearts  !"  "  Why,  then,  Mrs.  Fogar- 
ty !  is  that  your  voice  I  hear ;  and  is  it  only  looking 
on  you  are — you  that  could  bate  seven  baronies  at 
the  dance  ?"  "  Bedad,  it's  the  truth  you're  spakin', 
Mr.  Wholahan.  Come  out  here,  Mrs.  Fogarty,  and 
letua  show  these  youngsters  what  dancin'  was  in  our 
day.  Oh,  by  the  powers  of  Moll  Kelley,  I'll  take 
no  excuse.  Sure,  it's  many  a  time  we  danced  to 
gether  before  either  of  us  was  married,  and  I'll  be 
bound  we  have  the  old  kick  in  our  foot  yet.  What's 
your  favorite,  ma'am?  Bedad,  you  must  have  it! 
Darby,  give  us  '  The  New  Married  Bride !'  and  now 
clear  the  road,  boys  ?" 

Such  were  the  scenes  of  merriment  all  around. 
Between  ten  and  eleven  o'clock  they  began  to  wend 
their  way  homeward,  with  bounding  steps  and  glee- 
some  jokes,  betokening  hearts  awaking  to  a  sense 
of  happiness  and  contentment. 


CONCLUSION. 

ANOTHEK  year  flew  by,  and  once  more  the  vines 
and  flowers  in  her  old  home  were  tended  by  the 
careful  hand  of  Winnie.  The  children  played  among 
the  flower-beds  in  front  of  the  handsome,  capacious 
cottage  erected  by  the  late  Bishop  Biggs  for  Sandy 
McGlauren. 

Retribution  had  at  last  overtaken  the  wh^le  troop 
of  vampires.  The  same  day  that  Toney  Byrne  took 
possession  of  his  old  farm,  the  soul  of  Jacob  Margin 
was  brought  before  the  bar  of  Eternal  Justice.  He 
died  ot  putrid  fever  after  seven  days'  sickness,  at 
his  residence,  Fawnbrook  Lodge.  Three  days  after 
ward  a  stately  hearse,  with  nodding  plumes,  and 
half  a  dozen  carriages,  accompanied  his  remains  to 
the  Protestant  church-yard  of  Ardmore.  A  few 
miserable  outcasts,  whom  his  tyranny  had  made 
desperate,  flung  stones  at  the  hearse  and  cursed  the 
senseless  clay  as  it  passed  along  ;  but  the  majority 
of  the  people  shook  their  heads  in  horror,  and,  get 
ting  out  of  the  way,  crossed  themselves,  and  invoked 
a  prayer  to  be  delivered  from  the  evil  one.  Such  was 


THB  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        357 

the  end  of  Jacob  Margin.  It  was  said  not  even  one 
of  his  own  relatives  ever  shed  a  tear  for  him.  He 
went  to  his  grave  "  unwept,  unpitied,"  and  but  too 
well  known. 

Sandy  McGlauren  went  back  to  Scotland,  a  richer 
if  not  a  wiser  man  ;  while  Faulkner,  the  Bible- 
reader,  and  his  confreres,  betook  themselves  to 
u  White  Friar's  Hall,"  to  shout  for  Thresham  Gregg 
and  the  Dublin  Corporation. 

Mr.  De  Courcy,  when  he  had  the  affairs  of  the  es 
tate  restored  to  their  loi-mer  order,  and  saw  the  peo 
ple  once  more  contented  and  happy,  took  with  his 
family  a  tour  on  the  continent,  which  he  had  long 
contemplated.  About  six  months  after  his  depart 
ure  little  Mary  Dempsey  came  home  from  school 
earlier  than  usual  one  day,  and  throwing  her  arms 
around  the  neck  of  her  grandfather,  with  whom  she 
was  a  great  pet,  exclaimed  :  "  Oh,  grandaddy !  I 
have  the  greatest  news  for  you  !  "We  were  all  dis 
missed  from  school  to-day  at  twelve  o'clock.  First, 
we  were  brought  to  the  chapel  to  join  in  a  Te  Deum 
that  all  the  nuns  sang  in  thanksgiving  to  God.  Sis 
ter  Norah  played  the  organ  ;  but  she  could  not  sing : 
her  voice  was  choked  with  sobs.  She  told  me  to  tell 
vou  in  particular  the  news  she  had  heard.  Now  what 
will  you  give  me  if  I  tell  you  \  "  and  the  young 


358  THE   BYKNES   OF   GLENGOtTLAH. 

rogue  peered  laughingly  into  his  face.  Her  grand 
father  fondled  the  little  prattler  and  stroked  her  fair 
curls.  Then  he  said  : 

"  I  wont  give  anything.     I  don't  care  to  hear  it !  " 

"  Yes,  you  do,  you  bad  old  grandaddy  !  You'd 
give  ever  so  much  to  hear  it !  " 

"  "Well,  I'll  give  you  a  kiss." 

"  Oh,  I'll  get  plenty  of  them  without  telling  any 
thing." 

"  Well,  then,  I'll  buy  you  a  pretty  picture  the 
next  time  I  go  to  Ardmore." 

"  Will  you,  for  sure  and  certain  ?  " 

"  For  sure  and  certain." 

"  Then  I'll  te.ll  you.  Sister  Norah  got  a  letter 
from  Rome  this  morning,  from  her  father,  telling  her 
he  had  become  a  Catholic  ;  and  on  the  same  day  and 
in  the  same  church  our  own  Mr.  De  Courcy  and  all 
his  family  were  baptized,  and  all  made  their  first 
communion.  Now,  grandfather,  isn't  that  good 
news?" 

Toney  Byrne  did  not  utter  a  word — he  raised  his 
hands  and  eyes  to  heaven,  and  going  into  his  room 
knelt  down.  The  child  saw  the  large  tears  stream 
ing  down  his  cheeks,  and  she  ran  off  to  find  her 
mother  and  grandmother  and  communicate  the  joy 
ful  intelligence.  Soon  it  was  over  the  \\hole  coun- 


THE   BYKNES   OF   GLENGOULAH.  351) 

try,  and  from  every  bill-top  that  night  bonfires  blazed 
and  groups  danced  merrily  around  them.  Every 
old  flute  and  fiddle  ever  scratched  was  brought  forth 
and  put  in  requisition  for  the  dance,  and  when  all 
instruments  failed  the  best  whistler  or  jigger  took 
up  the  tune  and  footed  it  with  right  good  will  until 
the  near  approach  of  midnight. 


On  any  Sunday  morning  early,  long  before  the 
chapel-bell  of  Tinmanogue  gives  warning  that  the 
holy  mass  will  soon  commence,  if  you  chance  to  be 
passing  and  peer  through  the  sweet-briar  hedge 
among  the  peaceful  graves,  you  will  not  fail  to  see  a 
pensive  woman  of  prepossessing  appearance,  dressed 
in  plain  black,  surrounded  by  a  group  of  hushed 
children,  kneeling  around  a  grave  which  she  fre 
quently  stoops  to  kiss  and  bedew  with  her  tears. 

And  "  Aft  in  the  simmer  eve's  gloamin'  "  the 
same  figure  may  be  observed  (attended  by  one  or 
other  of  her  children,  and  sometimes  by  an  old  man) 
plucking  the  withered  leaves  from  the  rose  bushes 
which  hang  lovingly  over  the  cross  at  the  head  of 
the  grave,  or  carefully  removing  the  weeds  from  the 
well-kept  turf  studded  with  daisies.  Would  you 
know  who  sleeps  beneath  ?  Then  read  the  iuscrip- 


3(50  tt\i!,   BYRNES   OF   GLENGOULAH. 

tion  on  \he  white  marble  slab  inserted  into  the  chapel 
wall  aboYCy  the  grave  : 

BRYAN    DEMPSEY, 

DEPABTEL.  IN  THE  PEACE  OF  THE  LOUD, 

Febraary  13th,  1846, 
Aged  28  years. 

BLXJUIESCAT  IN  PACE. 

"  Glengoulali  forever  mourns  her  youthful  martyr  1 " 

Watch  the  movements  of  this  mourner  a  little 
longer  and  you  will  see  her  proceed  to  another 
grave,  upon  which  she  bestows  equal  care,  and  fer 
vently  kisses  the  green  sod,  praying  all  the  while. 

A  box  tomb  of  Carrara  marble  stands  at  the  head 
of  this  grave.  On  the  top  of  the  tomb  two  angels, 
finely  carved,  hold  between  them  an  immortal  crown, 
and  seem  already  on  the  wing  for  realms  of  bliss. 

The  inscription  reads  thus  : 

ERECTED  BY  HIS  SORROWING  PARISHIONERS, 
TO  THE  MEMORT  OP 

REV.  EUGENE  PATRICK   ESMOND, 

FOR  FIFTT-SIX  TEARS 

FATHER,  FRIEND,  COUNSELLOR,  AND  PASTOR  OF  GLENGOULAH, 

Died  a  Martyr  to  Charity,  February  20th,  1S46,  Aged  98  Years. 

Requiescat  in  Pace. 

These  graves  and  her  children  are  the  great  charge 
of  Winnie's  life.  The  white  marble  slab  over  Bryan 
was  the  gift  of  Clara  Menville,  through  Mr.  De 
Courcy,  who  carried  out  her  wishes  when  she  en 
tered  the  convent. 

Winnie's  life  glided  peacefully  on  with  her  father 
and  mother.  Many  of  the  old  people  have  dropped 


THE  BYRNES  OF  GLENGOULAH.        361 

to  sleep  iii  the  hope  of  a  glorious  resurrection,  but 
Toney  Byrne  yet  lives,  loved  and  respected  by  all 
who  know  him. 

Still  on  winter  evenings  the  neighbors  gather 
around  his  fireside  as  in  days  of  yore,  and  beguile 
the  hours  with  legend,  and  song,  and  tale.  Still 
Toney  watches  the  budding  corn  and  waving  fields 
he  tilled  for  so  many  years,  and  his  life  is  a  continual 
prayer  of  thanksgiving.  He  thinks  of  the  old  neigh 
bors  who  were  persecuted  to  death  or  forced  to  emi 
grate  to  foreign  lands,  while  he  can  sit  securely  and 
smoke  at  his  porch,  listening  to  the  concert  the 
Bweet  birds  are  making ;  and  in  the  humility  of  his 
heart  he  wonders  why  it  is  that  God  has  so  espe 
cially  favored  him.  The  terrible  trials  he  has  passed 
through  have  faded  from  his  memory ;  or  if  ever 
spoken  of,  he  always  says  . 

"  Well,  don't  you  see  how  God  in  his  tender  mer 
cies  brought  us  through  all?  And  now  we're  better 
off  than  ever  !  Praises  be  to  His  holy  name  ! " 

And  now,  dear  reader,  lest  in  this  changeful  world 
some  new  evil  should  befall  us,  I  will  make  my 
adieu,  hoping  you  will  follow  the  advice  I  gave  you 
in  the  first  chapter — to  visit  before  you  die  the  lovely 
hills  and  vales,  not  of  Wicklow  alone,  but  of  "  Erin 
the  beautiful." 
1G 


362        THE  BTENES  OF  GLENGOULAH. 

If  you  have  not  the  good  fortune  to  see  Anthony 
Byrne  in  the  flesh,  you  will,  thank  God,  see  many, 
many  left  in  that  grand  old  land  with  the  spirit  and 
the  virtue  of  the  Chieftain  of  Glengoulah. 


THE    EM). 


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